


Rightside Up 3

by TheBrothersRowe



Series: The Upside Down [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: BE WARNED YAL, Byers have powers, F/M, Get your tissues ready, Lots of Angst, Mike gets taken au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 51,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24116791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrothersRowe/pseuds/TheBrothersRowe
Summary: It was the summer of 1985. Hawkins was getting ready for the wonderful 4th of July festival that was coming. But things are never as they seem, as a dark evil returns, filling the town with a familiar fear. The nightmare isn't over, and it's only going to get worse.
Relationships: Dorian Montgomery & Jonathan Byers, Dustin Henderson/Suzie, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Kali Prasad, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Jonathan Byers & Will Byers, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler
Series: The Upside Down [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1428742
Comments: 102
Kudos: 34





	1. Starcourt Mall

Music played on in the background, but Eleven and Mike had their minds on something else. The two kissing each other on her bed, in their own little world.

Mike pulled away, throwing his arms in the air as he began to sing along to the music, “And nobody wants to know you now. Nobody wants to show you-”.

“Mike! Mike, stop! Stop!” El stated, covering her boyfriend’s mouth as she tried to stop his awful awful singing.

“What you don’t like it?” “No!” Eleven laughed, before leaning in to kiss him again.

_ This is exactly why Kali didn’t share a room with her. She claimed the couch, it was better than teen hormone hell. _

Kali was outside the cabin, smoking a cigarette as she played around with her powers, wondering how her old gang was doing. She didn’t regret her choice, but she still wished she knew how they were… or if they were even alive. No, Mick was smart. She’d take care of them. But who would take care of her…?

The purple haired woman sighed, putting out her cigarette and headed back inside.

Her appearance had hardly changed over the months, minus cutting her purple hair to her neck, and wearing more Hawkins like clothing. Of course, she still looked very different compared to most people in the town, with her black tops, and always wearing jeans and leather boots.

Hopper sat in the living room, eating chips and salsa as he watched TV. He didn’t even look up when Kali made her way inside. Picking up his beer, he took a swig when he heard the music coming from Eleven’s room. Setting the beer down, Hopper began to lean back in his chair. He kept leaning until he saw the two, his eyes widening as the two teens were kissing.    
  


“HEY!”

They both looked up wide eyed, El quickly slamming the door shut with her powers. “Hey! Three-inch minimum!” Hopper got off of his chair, hurrying towards the door, “Leave the door open three inches!”. Hoppe huffed as he failed to open the door, attempting to jiggle the knob. “El, open this door.” Hopper grunted, trying the knob again, “Open the-”

The door swung open, Mike and Eleven both laying on the bed reading comics and magazines. “What’s wrong?” Mike asked. Kali chuckled from the living room, God, Mike always knows how to make things more fun.

As Mike rode off, El laid in bed excited, thinking about spending time with her boyfriend and brothers. It had been too long since all of them had gotten together.

Mike rode up to the new Starcourt mall, parking his bike as he spotted Will, Lucas, and Max. “You’re late, again.” Lucas huffed, his arms folded over his chest. “We’re gonna miss the opening.” Will added.

“Yeah, if we all stay here and whine about it. Come on.” Mike stated, leading the other’s in. While it was annoying how he was always late because of locking lips with Eleven, it was nice to see him start acting like Mike again. It was really annoying, but they all enjoyed it, he had gone through so much in the last two years. Thankfully it was all over.

The group made their way through the mall, heading to the famous destination point. They had to hurry, which meant passing through a lot of people. “Yeah! Watch it, nerd!” Erica shouted from her spot, surrounded by all of her friends.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Isn’t it time you died?”  _ Holy shit, thank god Holly was still sweet. _

After some more bickering between Lucas and Max, the four entered Scoops Ahoy. A familiar goth stood out the counter, rolling her eyes as she stepped away with her ice cream. 

“Robin, it’s your favorite, children.” Dorian said, taking a bite of her ice cream before heading off. Will gave her a small wave as she walked off. Following her ‘I’m too edgy for people’ nature, Dorian pretended she never hung out with the group last fall, but he could tell she still enjoyed their presence. 

“See you!” Will called out as she left. “I didn’t know that was your type, Will.” Lucas chuckled, getting a playful shrug from Will as a response.

Mike took Dorian’s place at the counter, repeatedly hitting the bell. Robin huffed, putting on her customer service smile, “Hey, dingus, your children are here.”. Just as Robin said that, Steve opened the back window, dressed in his work uniform. “Again? Seriously?” Steve asked, only getting a ring of the bell as a response.

Steve shook his head, leading them all through the back, letting them all sneak through the hall. “I swear, if anybody hears about this-” “I’ll let Nancy know about this.” Mike called out, successfully shutting him up. While Steve despised his uniform, Nancy had taken a particular liking to it~

Sneaking through the halls, the group made it into the movie theatre, taking a seat near the back. Once they were all seated, they began passing around their drinks and candies. Things were starting off normally until the projector cut off. In fact, all the power in Starcourt cut off. “That’s new.” Dorian whispered. “The hell?” Erica scoffed.

“That’s weird.” Steve muttered, trying the lightswitch. “That’s not gonna work, dingus.” Robin stated, watching him continue to flick the switch. “Oh, really?” Steve asked as heher kept at the switch.

What they hadn’t realized is that power was going out for miles, going all the way out to the Hawkins sawmill. Where rats lingered about, a strange force resonating within the building. The smoke began to move around, the rats squeaking frantically as they ran, the force releasing a distorted scream as it flew out.

Soon the power switched back, everything starting to work again. “Let there be light.” Steve said. Robin scoffed, but had a faint smirk, “Thanks, eye patch.”.

The move continued again, everyone cheering. Everyone cheered, excited as the movie continued. Everyone except Mike, a look of fear on his face as the world around him was drowned out, and all too familiar chill coming to him. He put a hand on the back of his neck, trembling lightly. 

All the memories came back to him. Being stuck on the school as it came at him, taking control of him. Frantically fighting as they burned the beast out of him. Listening to his mother and sister’s screams as their father died-

“Hey.” Mike flinched as Will grabbed his shoulder, his best friend looking worried, “Are you okay…?”. Mike slowly nodded, taking a deep breath, “Yeah...I’m okay.”. While he didn’t believe it, Will backed down, going back to watching the movie.

“Are you sure about this, you might be late for work.” Barb asked, feeling bad for making Jonathan late. It was already almost nine after all.

Jonathan shook his head, looking over the paper, “I’ll be fine, I have plenty of time to drive there, I know how much college means to you.”. 

A smile grew on the red head's face, going back to reviewing her college papers with him. She had a whole year until she graduated, but she had to prepare early. There were so many options for her, especially since she knew for sure what major she wanted to go for. Criminal justice, going off that she could possibly get a job in some big organization or something. She had no doubt that Hawkins wasn’t the only place that had strange things happening on such a grand skill.

Barbara Holland had come a long way since she met Jonathan Byers, and while they sadly weren’t together, it made her feel great that they were still a strong team.

“Okay, now come on now. Get all your stuff, I’ll drive you. No buts, get up.” Barb gathered her things, packing them into her backpack. Jonathan silently chuckled, standing up and followed her out.

“Hey, hey, hey. Wait up.” Joyce called out, spotting the two teens. “It’s okay, mom. I’ll eat at work, I’m gonna be late.” Jonathan said, attempting to walk away, but his mother stopped him. The short woman chuckled, affectionately kissing her son on the cheek repeatedly.

Lord, ever since last year happened, Joyce made sure to let her son know she loved him with all her heart. They wouldn’t repeat anything.

“All right, all right.” Jonathan moved away, his mother snickering, “I gotta go, I’ll see you guys later.”. Barb giggled as she went out the front door, waving goodbye to the two as they left.

Will watched them go with a small smile, while he liked Barb a lot, he definitely didn’t miss the make out sessions between the two… not that they did it a lot anyway, but still. “I see that look, it’s only a matter of time before you fall in love.” Joyce smirked. “I’m not gonna fall in love.” Will remarked. “Okay.” Joyce smiled to herself, knowing for certain it’d happen someday, and she would be so happy for her boy when it did.

“I don’t mind driving you, really. I don’t see why it’s a big deal.” Barb remarked, keeping her eyes on the road.

“It’s nothing… I mean you got a lot on your mind. Between preparing for college, helping out Nancy with Holly, and just your personal life.” Jonathan stated. It was mostly true, with Ted… gone, Karen had to get a job on her own, leaving Nancy to stay home and watch the kids. Well, Holly mainly as Mike was always gone with the others or with his new girlfriend.

A sigh left Barb, “It’s okay, really. You got a lot on your mind too. Even if we aren’t dating anymore, we’re a team.”. “Yeah, okay.” He had a tiny smile, sitting back as she continued to drive.

Meanwhile, in a car that had just passed them, was Dustin, who repeatedly called on the walkie, hoping someone would hear. He was gone for only a month and now no one was responding to his calls? What the hell. Not even his mother jokingly bringing up Dorian’s possible antics was fun. Though he would have to watch later, she must have plotted something while he was gone.

After a while they arrived home, Dustin begrudgingly walking to his room. He sighed, sitting on his bed, looking over to his turtle. “At least someone’s happy I’m home.” He said.

Just as he said that, his toys began coming to mife, making noise and moving around. All of them made their way out of his room, and he quickly grabbed the hairspray, following it. “It’s just a dream. Your dreaming.” Dustin whispered, cautiously following the toys. 

What Dustin didn’t know is that all his friends were hiding around the corner, El using her powers to move the toys. Will smirked, looking at his sister, “Now!”. And then the toys stopped, Dustin confused, approached them. He picked some of them up, looking them over, just as the others came up behind him with a sign and noisemakers.

All of them blowed on their noisemakers, making Dustin turn around screaming, spraying the hairspray, getting Lucas right in the eyes. El panicked, hiding behind Will as the other two backed away, Dustin and Lucas both screaming as he continued to spray the hairspray.

_ What a wonderful summer this was turning out to be. _


	2. A Day At The Pool

“Cannonball!” A kid shouted, jumping off into the water.

Of course, with it being Summer, the pool was bustling with people. Nancy sat in the shallow end of Holly swam around with her floaties, keeping an eye on Holly. It was the perfect activity while mom was at work, it kept them from going crazy from being inside all day. It wasn’t all bad though, Barb was on her way here, and surprisingly enough, Kali had come as well. While she didn’t personally know the woman all that well, she couldn’t blame her from sneaking out after being stuck in that cabin all day.

“She’s coming down, ladies.” Some of the women behind them caught their attention, making Nancy look over to see Heather climbing down from the lifeguard stand. Oh no, she knew who was coming next.

Just as they had said, Billy came out of the locker room, putting out his cigarette, making his way over to his stand. Everyone checked him out as he walked over, Heather blowing her boyfriend a kiss as she walked past him.

Nancy shook her head as he began shouting at a kid, yeah he was breaking the rules, but still. Rolling her eyes, Nancy turned her focus back on her little sister. While she hated BIlly’s guts for him being an ass and beating her boyfriend so bad he lost an eye, Holly enjoyed his company. He was sickeningly good with kids and was helping her learn to swim.

“He’s good looking, for a guy.” Kali said, getting a groan from Nancy. “Not you too.” She huffed, watching him get to the lifeguard chair.

With Starcourt opening, a lot of the smaller businesses had closed due to the lack of business. Streets empty of cars and people, absolute silence from all the empty stores. 

One of the few stores left open was Melvald’s, which was barely open. Joyce and Karen were currently hanging up a ‘For Sale’ sign, when the door opened up, making them both look over to see who it was. Hopper stepped inside, giving a smile to them both. “Hello.” Hopper said. He hadn’t really expected them both to be on shift. He knew Karen worked here, just not the same shift. “You busy?”

Being able to read the room, Karen stepped off the stool, adjusting her ponytail, “I’m gonna go stock up the shelves.”. Joyce nodded, waving her friend off. It was a big change for Karen, but with Joyce’s help she was slowly able to get the hang of things. But it still wasn’t enough sadly...

Taking a look at Hopper, Joyce could tell he wasn’t here to buy anything. “What is it this time?” She sighed.

While Hopper ranted about Eleven’s new relationship, Joyce began tagging all the products with their new prices. She had a right to listen to this in a sense, after all, Owens labeled Eleven as both of their kids. Not that she minded of course, the girl had already become a daughter to her. El clearly liked Mike, and Mike liked her. And in Joyce’s opinion, Mike deserved a positive relationship after everything he had dealt with in the past two years.

Her only concern is that she hoped Karen didn’t hear Hopper angrily ranting about Mike. The woman was still very protective over her son, and after everything, Joyce knew that Karen would not hesitate to beat up Hopper for her son.

She hadn’t expected this, trying to speak common sense about Hopper wanting to break the two up. It was just nonsense, it was their decision, not his. This was an interesting thing to deal with, and the more she thought about it, the more happy she was that Jonathan’s one girlfriend was Barbara. Sweet girl, both were awkward but loved each other. It was sad they broke up, but at least they were great friends still.

Joyce zoned back into the conversation when Hopper grew confused about the heart to heart. She believed in him, even though he was known to have a bit of a short fuse, he could do this.

_ She was certain of it. _

It was a normal work day like any other, Jonathan holed up in the red room, working on pictures. “I grabbed everyone lunch.” A knock on the door and the voice of one of the female interns caught his attention. “Thanks.” Jonathan reponsed, focusing back onto his work. He sighed as he continued his work, his mind wandering as he could hear the thoughts of everyone in the writing room. “Damnit.” Jonathan whispered, wiping the blood from his nose, “You guys are disgusting.”.

Lucas held his face under the sink, trying to wash out his eyes. “Better?” Max asked once Lucas lifted his head up. “Still stings.” Lucas replied after wiping his eyes dry, he blinked a few moments before staring at her, “Is that a new zit?”

_ Oh shit. _

Max looked at him wide eyed, before grabbing him by the back of his head, “What is wrong with you?”. Pulling his head down, Max held him under the water. “I was just asking-AHHHH!”

“I call it… the Forever Clock. All right? Powered by wind. Very useful in the apocalypse.” Dustin had clearly used this time wisely to be a bigger dork than usual. Handing Will the clock, Dustin grabbed another contraption, “Then, I give you… the Slammer.”. He turned the device on to demonstrate it, El hiding behind her brother and Mike as the strange device began to shake. He let out a chuckle, smiling at the others, “Pretty neat, huh?”.

Will curiously began spinning the clock, looking up as Dustin brought a duffle bag over. “But this is my masterpiece.” He set the bag down, the three sitting on the floor to get a better look as he opened it, “I would like you to meet Cerebro.”.

“What exactly are we looking at here?” Mike asked, staring at the bag of parts.

The rest of them talking dimmed out, Will staring intently at the parts as a sudden flash came to him.  _ Dustin and Erica were standing on a hill, helicopters flying over them. _

The vision ended as quickly as it came, a soft gasp left him as he came back into reality. El noticed immediately, looking over with worry, “What did you see?”. Will attempted to find the words, but shook his head swallowing anxiously, “I don’t know. I’m sure it’s nothing though.”.

_ He really hoped it was nothing. _

She believed him but was still worried, they couldn’t dwell on it though as the group had a new objective. Somehow Will had missed Dustin bringing up a girlfriend while he had his vision. The three helped Dustin carry the parts, heading out the door. Amusingly Max and Lucas had the same reaction of shock to Dustin having a girlfriend.

“Alrighty, one scoop of chocolate and a big ol scoop of cookies and cream for the big girl.” Steve smiled, holding out the two cones for Nancy. The girl returned the smile, handing Holly her ice cream who was more than excited for it. Even Kali had a smile on her face, she was slowly warming to all of Jane’s friends, of course not all of them felt the same. She has seen the looks from the other’s as she hung around at times, but she could care less. She was doing this for Jane.

“Thank you, Steve!” Holly grinned, jumping a bit in excitement. “Heh, careful there. Don’t want to spill your ice cream.” Nancy smiled, before paying Steve, “Charming as ever Steve. I know all the kids love it.”

“Don’t say it like that, Nancy. You make me sound like a creep.” Steve grimaced.

She let out a small chuckle, “You’re great with kids. Seriously. Mom wanted to pay you for baby sitting before you know, you got to be a sailor.”. She was teasing of course, she did enjoy him in that outfit.

Steve frowned at the mention of this. “I already told your mom she doesn’t need to pay me if I babysit. You guys got enough to worry about. I heard that you guys were selling off a bunch of your stuff and about...the potential move.”.

It was her turn to frown now, “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you-”

“No, no, don’t Nancy. I completely get it. You have enough on your plate. Don’t let me ruin it by bringing up those things. Just have a good day with your sister, okay?” Steve asked, giving her the puppy eye. A small smile worked onto Nancy’s face, nodding as she walked off with her sister.

Back at Melvald’s, Hopper was making his attempt to practice his heart to heart with Joyce. It was much harder than expected, and Joyce let Karen slip off for a lunch break as she sat with Hopper.

“I know this is a difficult conversation to have, but I hope you know that I… care about you very much. And I know that-” “Eye contact.” “And I know that you… both care about each other very much- This does not sound like me at all.” “Just keep going. Come on.” Joyce stated. He was really trying, he just had to keep going for it.

“Which is why I think it’s important to establish these boundaries moving forward…” Hopper paused to look at the paper, which Joyce did not allow, “So we can build an environment uh… were we… all feel comfortable and trusted and open to sharing our feelings. This isn't gonna work.”. He shook his head, standing up from his seat, “Um, it’s not gonna work. It’s not gonna work.”

“Yes, it will! I promise. Oh, come on.” “The only way you can promise that is if Will sees it in a vision. Maybe I’ll just kill Mike. I’m Chief of Police. I can cover it up… but then Karen for sure will find out and will kill me.”

It wasn’t wrong, Karen was very determined when it came to her son, risking life and limb to find and save him on multiple occasions.

Joyce continued to encourage him, and Hopper decided to drop the bomb, asking her for dinner. And the hopeful support had shifted, Joyce grimacing a bit. “Oh, I um… I have plans.” Joyce explained, “I gotta help Karen go through everything. She’s still… you know not able to go through some of the things they have.”

“Yeah, okay.” He sighed, looking up as a customer came in, Karen right behind her. Hopper silently watched Joyce, a small smile on his face as he looked at the woman he loved.

It was a long trek, but the group made it to the hill, which wasn’t high enough unfortunately. “Aren’t we high enough?” Lucas asked.

“Cerebro works best at 100 meters.” Dustin explained.

“You know, I’m pretty sure people in Utah have telephones.” Max remarked. “Yeah, but Suzie’s Mormon.” Dustin stated.

_ These kids could be so stupid sometimes. _

Just as they were near the top, Eleven and Mike left, claiming it was curfew. Which was of course a lie seeing as it was only 4. Yes, they were happy that Mike was doing a lot better, it got annoying how they’d constantly find excuses to leave and make out or something like that. As they made the rest of the way up, a strange sensation hit Will, realizing this had been the hill from his vision, a sickening feeling flooding through him.

What they hadn’t noticed though was rats running through the field, soon following other rat’s to the abandoned steel works. At least hundreds of rats were running into the building. Shrill squeals filling the air as they headed downstairs, some exploding into fleshy messes.

  
_ And this was just the beginning. _


	3. Suzie, do you copy?

Billy sat atop the lifeguard post, looking around to make sure no one was breaking the rules. “See anything you like?” Billy looked down, spotting Heather at the bottom of the chair. “Plenty, beautiful. What are you doing, it’s not your shift yet.” Billy remarked.

A sly smirk bloomed on the brunette’s face, the girl folding her arms over her chest, “Well, I was thinking it’s a nice night, so the radio says. And I was thinking it’d be the perfect night for you and me to go out to dinner.”.

Billy grinned, “I’d love that babe. How about I come pick you up at 8?”.

“You got it Cali boy. I’ll make sure to wear that dress you really like, the pink one.” She gave a suggestive wink before sauntering off, much to her boyfriend’s amusement. Damn, she knew he loved this angle of her. Girl just loved to tease him. Well, tonight was going to be a great night then.

After an extremely long walking time, the group finally made it to the top of the hill. Not that any of the remaining three were pleased with Dustin’s choice. It didn’t matter though, they made it to the top, and now it was time to put Cerebro together at last. Taking out all the parts, the four of them worked together to piece Cerebro together. And soon enough they were done. “Pretty impressive, right?” Dustin asked, looking up at his creation, “You guys ready to meet my love.”.

The other three were still skeptical, but stayed nonetheless, watching as he attempted to call for Suzie. There was nothing at first, just radio static, but he knew for sure she was there. She had to be.

Joyce drove up to her home, noting Jonathan’s car was still there. Meaning he was either pulling a late shift or Barbara was sweet enough to drop him off. Making her way inside, Joyce put her things away, “Guys, I’m home. Guys?”. Hearing no responses, she sighed, heading towards the kitchen. Looks like she’d be eating alone. __

_ Again. _

Grabbing some leftovers from the kitchen, Joyce made her way to the living room, switching on the TV. She didn’t even know what show it was, all she could do was sit on the couch, silently remembering all the fond moments they all had together. Back when Bob was still in Hawkins, the boys were still hanging around, and Karen used to be so lively… so much had changed over the last two years, and it was hard to sit through sometimes.

Shaking her head, Joyce began eating her dinner, knowing that once she was done, she’d have to go help Karen out back at her place.

As one of the newbies and last ones there, Jonathan was saddled with locking up. It wasn’t like he minded or anything, at least he didn’t, until Dorian showed up. “What’s the big deal, you’re the only one here.” Dorian remarked, eating one of the leftover sandwiches before tossing it into the trash.

“If someone finds out you’re here, I could be fired.” Jonathan hissed out.

“It’d save you from this hellhole. You’re just lucky you aren’t a girl, I heard how badly some of those girls get treated.” Dorian remarked, hopping off of the desk. “Don’t remind me, I heard what they were thinking today. I just felt gross listening to them.” Jonathan shuddered.

Dorian lost interest the second the phone rang, going over and picking it up before Jonathan could stop her. “Hawkins Post.” She said in the fakest customer service voice much to his dismay. Before he could pull the phone from her, Dorian’s look of amusement shifted into genuine surprise, the girl quickly motioning for him to grab her a notebook and pen. Against his better judgement, he passed her the notepad, watching her quickly scribble onto the paper, him leaning over the goth giant’s shoulder.

_ Doris Driscoll. 4819 Cornwallis Road.  _ _ Diseased Rats _

Music played loudly in the room, El and Mike trapped in another one of their make out sessions. These kids were the reason Kali was always gone at night.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Hopper laid in bed, practicing his speech to himself. It wasn’t going very well, as he had to keep looking at the paper when he forgot certain words. After a while, Hopper got up, tossing his cigarette away and made his way to her door, giving a light knock.

“Hey.” “Yes?” “Can I talk to you guys a minute?” The door opened, and he walked in, finding the two teens on the bed, just sitting there and staring at him. “Hi.” “Hi.” Oh lord, how was he going to do this?

Turning off the radio, Hopper sat in front of the two, which was already odd enough. Now he had to actually try and talk to them.  _ God, why couldn’t Joyce just do it for him? _ He began to ramble on, and it only got worse when Mike started being a little shit and joking around. El giggling at his remarks didn’t help either. Was it this bad when they were at Joyce’s house when it was her turn to stay with her?

After multiple attempts of trying to say something and Mike continuing to act like a shit, Hopper had enough. “You know what? Your mom called.” Mike’s mood immediately changed, “She needs you home right away.”

“Is...is everything okay?”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s your grandma.”  _ In retrospect, this was a horrible thing to do to him after everything this kid has been through, but in the moment, Hopper didn’t give two shits. _

_ If Karen found out she was going to kill him for sure. _

After having a very, very  _ calm  _ conversation with Mike, he managed to calmly persuade Mike to back off of Eleven. He would continue to allow Mike to date his daughter possibly if he listened to him. It went very well.

The sky was dark, night had come, and even many hours later, Dustin was still trying to call for Suzie. Most of the other’s had gotten tired of it, coming up with various reasons on why it wasn’t working. Much to his dismay, both Max and Lucas didn’t believe that Suzie was real, the two of them heading down the hill and heading home.

Will was the last one there, trying to comfort Dustin in his own way, bringing up the old times. Fun games like D&D and some other things, something to bring the group together again.

Just as Will left, a strange frequency was heard over Cerebro, making the boy fall back in surprise. He quickly grabbed the radio, “Suzie. Suzie, is that you?”. To his surprise though, what he heard was a man speaking in Russian. He quickly turned up the frequency, shocked at what he was hearing.

Amming up her music, Heather stood in front of the mirror, blow drying her hair. She was going to make sure that she looked amazing for this date, tonight was going to be a damn good night. Picking up her curling iron, Heather made sure the curls were bouncy to the max, resting perfectly on her shoulder.

Now, make up time. Picking up her blush, she covered his cheeks up in a shade of rose, she even used a similar shade for her eyeshadow. Taking out her mascara wand next, she began doing her eyelashes, while she was blessed with long eyelashes already, she knew they’d be a good highlight on her face. Now for the finishing touch, ruby red lipstick. It looked great on her, and all over his face~

Once her make up was done, Heather put on some earrings, and with one final look she was ready. Picking up her bag, Heather made her way to the door, waving her parents off as she headed to the front door. Tonight was going to be a great night, she was sure of it.

Running a little late, Billy continued his drive to Heather’s house. Yeah, she’d be a little pissed for making her wait, but he knew how to make it all better with his girl. Some smooth talking, making sure the date goes swell, and a great time in bed-

Something hit his front window, making Billy swerve in panic, the sound of his tires screeching loudly as he crashed into some of the bushes.

A groan left him, Billy slowly lifting up his head. “Oh, no.” He gaped, seeing the state his car was in, “No. Piece of shit.”. Seeing his car was refusing to work, despite the radio still playing, Billy climbed out. 

Grunting, he pushed himself up, looking around before moving to the other side of his car. “Shit. Dammit it!” He shouted, hitting the door as it refused to open up. “Piece of shit!” He kicked the bumper, circling around his car. Now what was he supposed to fucking do? Stranded out by the goddamn steel works. No ones been to this place in fucking months!

Moving to the front of his car, Billy noticed something weird on his cracked window. Leaning over to touch it, he was disgusted to find it as a strange slime. “What the hell?” He whispered, looking up as there was a sudden shriek. “Who’s there?” Billy called out, “Hey! I said who’s there?”

A yell left Billy as something pulled his down, screaming as he was dragged into the building. His body was tossed into one of the walls by the unseen force, yelling as he tried to grab onto something. There was nothing for him to grab onto until they reached the stairs, him clinging onto the edges of the doorframe. Despite his struggles, he was pulled down with another tug, his screams echoing through the abandoned building, getting a ghostly cry as a response.


	4. Normal Day at Hawkins

A faint rattling sound filled the steel works, being the only noise at the moment. After a moment, it stopped, and out came Billy, screaming as he frantically ran from the beast. Pushing himself onto his feet, he ran, hurrying to his car. Swinging his door open, the teen rushed into his car, quickly turning it on and speeding off.

He kept driving until he finally came across a payphone, hurrying out of his car. Not even closing the door behind him, he ran into the phone booth, hastily typing in 911. Billy panted, looking around as the line rang before finally making a click sound.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

Before Billy could say anything, flashes of what just happened came to him, reminding him of the hell he just endured. He looked up, surprised seeing the lights flickering rapidly above him

“Hello? Anyone there?” The woman’s voice was becoming distorted and soon the line went dead, the light above him shutting off.

Setting the phone down, Billy stepped outside, finding the world much darker. Everything was cold and dark, strange vines covering everything. Billy took a slow step out, listening to footsteps in the distance. Taking a deep breath, Billy continued forward, seeing dozens of figures in the foggy distance.

“What do you want? Hey! I said, what do you want?” Billy slowly walked forward, the shadowy figures still advancing forward on him. “I said, what do you want?” He shouted, red lightning lit up the sky, releasing a loud thunderclap.

One of the figures left the group, walking up to him, and to his absolute shock it was him.

The sky was bright, birds chirping softly above. El walked across the porch, pacing back and forth anxiously. “Careful Jane, keep that up and you’ll burn a hole into the ground.” Kali teased, knowing exactly what it was.  _ Boy troubles _ . She was just like that when she was young and naive, but that was ages ago. No need to bother with all of it anymore. All that mattered was the family she had found.

Eleven ignored her sister, continuing to pace across the porch before huffing and headed inside. Hopper was in the kitchen when she made her way to the phone, “Hey. Is everything okay?”. Kali made her way in, giving a small eye roll as she sat on the couch.

“Yes.” Eleven replied, typing in Mike’s house phone quickly.

At the Wheeler’s home, Karen was getting ready for work, Nancy packing up Holly’s swimming bag. The little girl had adored going to the pool every day with her big sister, it was even more fun if Barbara or Kali would tag along.

The phone rang, making Nancy look up and walk over. “Hi. Wheeler’s residence.” Nancy said, glancing back to make sure Holly was behaving. Upon hearing Eleven’s voice, Nancy knew what this was and gave a small smirk, “Yeah, hold on. Mike! Your girlfriend’s on the phone!”. Her smirk grew hearing her brother’s groan from downstairs.

Shaking his head, Mike went to the phone, picking it up anxiously, “Eleven?”

“It’s 9:32. Where are you?” She took the phone into her room, using her powers to shut the door.

“Sorry, I-I was just about to call. I, um… can’t see you today.”  _ He already had his life threatened by enough dangerous forces, adding Hopper to that list wasn’t a good idea. _

This confused her, “Why not?”

“It’s my Nana. She’s very sick.”

This only confused Eleven more, “But Hop said that your Nana was okay, that it was a false alarm.”

_ Shit. _

“Yeah. That’s… what… we thought it was at first, but then she took a real turn for the worse.” “Oh.” “Yeah.” “We think she might… die.”

“Wait, what’s wrong with Nana?” Nancy asked in alarm, startling Mike. Why was she even on the phone still?! __

_ Being a nosey big sister that’s why.  _

Quickly covering the phone with his hand, Mike shouted upstairs, “Nancy! Get off the phone! How many times?!” “Are you serious?! Why didn’t you tell us Nana called?!” “No, Nancy! Just get off the goddamn phone!”

“Watch your language, both of you!” Karen exclaimed. Nancy scoffed, hanging the phone back up.

Mike took a deep breath, putting the phone back up to his ear, “Sorry about that. We all call her Nosey Nancy for a reason.”

“Was that Nancy?”

“Yeah. Nancy gets hysterical about everything nowadays, you know? Anyway we need to go to the nursing home, to see Nana.”

“You can come over after?”

“No! I mean, I- We all just have a lot on our minds… with this, with everything. I just need to be alone today. With my… feelings?”  _ Part of it was the truth honestly. _

“Do you lie?”

“What? No. Friend’s don’t lie.” Covering the phone with his hand, Mike shouted to make it sound like they were leaving, “What, Mom? My mom’s calling me. Better go. Talk to your tomorrow. Miss you already. Bye!”. He quickly hung up the call before she could say anything, resting his head on the phone.

Eleven stared at the phone for a moment before walking out of her room with it. “Boy troubles?” Kali teased. 

Hopper shot her a glare before looking at El, “Hey. What’s going on?”. She hung the phone up without saying anything, returning to her room and locking the door behind her. As she closed the door, a smile grew on Hopper's face. Kali noticed this, her eyes widening in realization, “Oh my god you asshole!”

Ignoring the pissed woman, Hopper got in his car, heading off to the usual place in a wonderful mood. Singing along to music, clapping, all of the good stuff. God, today was a good day!   
  


The chief pulled up to Melvald’s, climbing out of the car with a pep in his step. Joyce and Karen looked up as he walked in, Karen softly chuckling at this. It was easy for her to see that Hopper would come a lot for Joyce… it was nice.

“Emotions have been shared. Boundaries have been set. Order has been… restored.” Hopper took off his sunglasses for dramatic flare.

While Joyce was overjoyed, Karen was confused with what was happening. “Am I missing something?” She asked. “Wait, wait, it worked?” Joyce asked, grinning.

“Uh, this is the first day in six long, excruciating months that they will not be seeing each other. Yes, I think it worked! Yes!” Hopper cheered, Joyce clapping for him. Hearing that it clicked for Karen, the woman looking at Hopper surprised then to Joyce. “You know about this?” Karen question.

Joyce grimaced a bit, putting her hands down, “Mike and Eleven both have been through a lot, and it’s great that they’re there for each other… but they do spend a lot, and I mean A LOT of time together. Some distance is healthy for them. It’s just putting up some boundaries, no harm was done.”

_ Um, about that…. _

“Um, how about this Joyce? I tell you everything over dinner, then Joyce can tell you everything at work Karen.” Hopper explained, Karen giving him an exasperated look. Eventually she gave up, walking off to go stack shelves or something. “Hey, before you say no. This is not a date. This is just two friends getting together for a nice dinner. I mean, we’ve earned it, haven’t we?”. After debating the time, the two eventually came to some sort of agreement, and it was going good.

Of course, though, Powell had to interrupt the mood by calling him on the radio. Like always, it was another protest in front of town hall about the mall, what was new? Heading out, Hopper swore as he nearly tripped over the magnets. “Clean up on aisle five.” He said, leaving the store.

Seeing as Karen was still ‘stocking shelves’, AKA just moving things around to make them look busy, Joyce decided to check it out. Walking over, Joyce picked up one of the magnets, putting it on the whiteboard only for it to dall. Raising a brow, she tried another one, only for the same thing to happen. Raising a brow, Joyce tried more, only for more to fall. What was happening?

Jonathan was in the red room, working on some pictures. As he did, he thought of the note that Dorian had written about that call last night. Fuck, what was he doing? He needed to focus on that job… but that woman sounded really scared.

Biting his lip, Jonathan shook his head, damnit, he hoped he wouldn’t regret this. Shaking his head, Jonathan grabbed his bags, knowing that Tom and the others wouldn’t even notice if he was gone. He already made sure to check, god, reading their minds was so gross. 

Securing his bag and camera, Jonathan made his way outside, finding Barb waiting for him in her car. “Come on, get in.” Barb said, smiling. “Dorian tell you?” Jonathan grimaced. “I know you well enough Jonathan Byers to know what’s- yeah, she told me.” Barb said, she tried. Jonathan made his way over, climbing into her passenger seat as he pulled out the note Dorian wrote so Barb could follow the address.

“I still think it’s interesting of you to do this. Sneaking out of work to work on this story, which you don’t know if it’ll be good or not.” Barb remarked, starting the car. “Let’s just say Dorian’s a negative influence on me.” Jonathan muttered.

It was just another day at Starcourt Mall, another day of boring work for some, a day of fun for others. “Have a nice day.” Robin muttered, lacking the customer service tone. “Thank you.” The woman replied, walking off, and replacing her spot was Dustin. And just as they introduced themselves, the door swung open, Steve sliding out of the back room.

“Henderson.” Both of them chuckled, Steve jumping in joy as he hurried over, “Henderson! He’s back! He’s back!”

“I’m back! You got the job!” Robin looked back and forth at the two, god, now there were two of them?

“I got the job!” Steve let out a victorious trumpet noise, the two doing their usual high five and other interactions.

Robin wasn’t as amused, giving her co-worker a look, “How many children are you friends with?”


	5. The Mall Rats

Taking a quick break, Steve joined Dustin at one of the booths, giving him a sundae on the house. The boy was catching him up on his adventures at camp, and the second he brought up his girlfriend, Steve didn’t believe him just like all the others. After some denial, Dustin mentioned the perks of the job.

“Yeah, I can eat as much of it as I want, but it’s not good for the figure. Gotta keep in shape for Nancy. Plus Holly gets to eat the free ice cream.” Steve stated. “Wow, you two are doing great.” Dustin smirked. “We had some rough patches, trauma and stuff. But you know, we’re doing great.” He smiled.

“Speak of the devil.” Robin called out, making Steve look over to see Nancy, Holly, and Kali walking over. It was still weird how often he saw her with those two.

A smile bloomed on Steve’s face, climbing over to kiss his girlfriend. “Hey beautiful, how are you doing? You look good too Nancy.” Nancy chuckled, before lightly hitting him in the stomach, “Augh, I surrender! I surrender!”

“Yeah, you better Harrington.” Nancy snickered, before looking over and gasping seeing Dustin, “Oh my gosh, you’re back!”. Dustin smiled, waving at her. At least Steve wasn’t going to ditch him for a make out-

“Steve, I was wondering if you'd come to the pool with us. Then maybe the two of us could go on a dinner date. It’s been forever.” Oh no, she was doing the look, playing with her hair, which she was growing out again to make it worse, and using her other hand to play with her ballerina slipper necklace that she knew he loved.

_ Shit. _

Steve grimaced, looking back at Robin who was staring him down. “Shit, Nance. I can’t, I got a lot of work to do, and I’m helping close.”

A look of disappointment crossed Nancy’s face, the girl shaking her head, “We’ve barely hung out ever since you got your job.”

“Yeah, well I’m busy, sorry.”

“You’re always busy.” “Nancy, we can do it some other day. I’ll-” “You’ll make it up… you always...say that. Yet here we are again.” Nancy shook her head before taking her sister’s hand, “Come on, Holly.”.

“Nancy, wait!” Steve groaned as she walked off, Kali following her, “Damnit.”. He groaned more hearing the familiar squeak of markers going down the whiteboard, knowing Robin was adding another line to the loser chart. Guess Dustin spoke way too soon.

Giving Steve a moment, Dustin finally brought up the Russian signal. It was definitely going to be something big, and he’d for sure need Steve’s help with it.

Max skated down her street, practicing kick flip, which was proving very difficult. “Shit!” Max exclaimed, the skateboard rolling away before being stopped as someone stepped on the end and caught it. To her surprise, it was Eleven. The two of them hadn’t exactly been enemies, but she could tell El still didn’t like her.

Which is why she was a little worried as she made her way over. “Hi.” El said, Max slowly taking her skateboard back from her. “Hi?”

El seemed anxious, looking at the other girl, “Can we talk?”

The two of them were now in Max’s room, El explaining everything that had happened that morning. Even with their past, Max was the only one she could talk to. Nancy had too much going on with her life, Dorian was barely around, Kali was… weird about love, and she didn’t know if it was too soon to ask Barb considering her and Jonathan broke up only a month ago.

“And then he said he- he missed me. And then he just hung up.” El explained, Max pacing back and forth in front of her.

“He’s a piece of shit.” Max stated. “What?” El questioned.

“Mike doesn’t have jack shit to do today, and his nana obviously isn’t sick. I guarantee you, him and Lucas are playing Atari right now.” Max stated. “But friends don’t lie.” El remarked. “Yeah, well, boyfriends lie. All the time.”

Meanwhile at Mike’s house, he was freaking out, pacing back and forth. “She knows I’m lying. She _knows_ I’m lying.”  
  
“I don’t even understand. Why lie?” While those two were dealing with that, Will was in the background setting up D&D. “If he didn’t threaten to kill you then there's no problem.” Lucas stated. Sure, Hopper had extreme tendencies but this was a lot.

Ignoring his friend's conversation, Will kept focused on the board in front of him, “Hey, guys, I’m almost set up.”

“I had no choice, Lucas. I really had no choice.”

“I just wish you’d consulted me, because the way you handled this, you’re in deep shit.”

Max sat down beside El, she was going to give her a serious pep talk. “You’re going to stop calling him. You’re going to ignore his calls. As far as you’re concerned, he doesn’t exist.” “Doesn’t exist?” “He treated you like garbage. You’re gonna treat him like garbage. Give him a taste of his own medicine.” “Give him the medicine.”

_ She’s got the message at least. _

“And if he doesn’t fix this, if he doesn’t explain himself, dump his ass.” Even if he went through hell for the last two years, it didn’t give him the right to treat the others terribly. Especially Eleven, she of all people knew the hell he had gone through. She was the one to pull him out of it after all.

After some ‘help’ from Max and Lucas, El and Mike continued their plans of action. Both of the duos knowing the best thing to do at a time like this was go to the mall. “Wait, guys! I’m still here!” Will exclaimed as Lucas and Mike ran upstairs, “Guys?”

It was just like any other day at the pool. The pool was filled with dozens of people, enjoying escaping the summer heat by dipping in the water. From the looks of it, Heather wasn’t here today. Maybe she was sick or had something to do. Nancy was never super close to her, she only knew of her from classes, they never really talked outside of class. It mostly had to do with the fact that Billy was her boyfriend, and she didn’t want to be around that after what happened.

Nancy sat on one of the chairs, reading a book. It was a good one but she made sure to look up on multiple occasions to make sure Holly was safe. Kali was swimming alongside her thankfully. They hadn’t had the best first introduction, but she was honestly starting to like Kali. Holly liked her a lot, though to be fair Holly liked everything.

As she glanced up, Nancy noticed Billy walking to one of the storage rooms. She knew he worked here, but something just...felt off. Tipping her sunglasses down, she decided she was going to keep and eye on him.

After a while Billy stumbled out of the storage room, the world around him hazy, the sun felt like it was burning him as he stepped out of the shade. The noise around him was distorted, heavy breathing leaving him as he just tried to get to the lifeguard stand. After what felt like an eternity, he got on, his skin coated with a layer of sweat. Billy let out a sharp exhale, he felt ready to burst into fire right then and there.

A familiar tune played inside Scoops Ahoy, Robin providing samples for Erica and her friends. “Hmm.” Erica tossed the sample spoon away before looking at Robin, “Can I try the peppermint stick?”

“Haven’t you already tried the peppermint stick?” Robin remarked.

“Yes, and I’d like to try it again.” Erica stated, much to Robin’s displeasure. “Steve!” Robin shouted back, not wanting to handle this any longer.

Steve was in the backroom with Dustin, eating a banana as he and Dustin listened to the recording once more. He allowed Dustin to read the translator as with one eye reading was much harder to do. “What do you think?” Dustin asked after turning off the recording.

“It sounded familiar. The music in the middle.”

“Why are you listening to the music, Steve?” Dustin questioned, “Listen to the Russian! We’re translating Russian!”

“I’m trying to listen to the Russian, but there’s music-”

Robin entered the room, agitated with the lack of help that she was getting up front, “All right, babysitting time is over. You need to get in there. Hey, my board. That was important data, shitbirds.”

“I guarantee you, what we’re doing is way more important than your data.” Dustin remarked.

A scoff left Robin, approaching the two, “Yeah? And how do you know these Russians are up to good anyway? Dorian’s half Russian and you guys are buddy buddy.”

“She’s not my friend and I told you she’s evil, Steve! I told you my neighbor was evil! She must be a Russian spy!” “Dustin, you first called her a witch. Then a vampire. And now she’s a Russian spy?”

“No, she is not you, idiots. If you actually talked to her you’d know her grandmother immigrated here ages ago. Also, might I add that both of you are extremely loud. You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you’re trying to translate, but haven’t figured out a single word because you didn’t realize Russians use an entirely different alphabet. Sound about right?” The two looked at each other stunned then her.

Robin reached forward, and Steve attempted to stop her but depth perception was another thing he lost when losing his eye, allowing her to grab it. “What are you doing?” Dustin shrieked.

“I wanna hear it. I wanna help, I’m fluent in four languages, you know.” Robin stated. “Russian?” Dustin asked. “Ou-yay are-yay umb-day.” Both of them were impressed, “That was Pig Latin, dingus. Whatever, I can speak Spanish, and French, and Italian, and I’ve been in a band for 12 years. My ears are little geniuses, trust me. Plus, it’s your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate. I don’t even want credit. I’m just bored, pirate boy.”

Steve huffed, hearing a repeated bell ding not too far from them, “Fine, just stop calling me pirate boy.”


	6. To Build

Barb drove up to the address, the two of them making their way to her front door. “Nancy will be sad she missed this. She had babysitting duty again.” Barb said, knocking on the door. 

After a while, the door opened, revealing a sweet old woman. “Yes?” Ms. Driscoll asked. “Mrs. Driscoll?” Jonathan questioned, “I’m um...I’m Jonathan. Jonathan Byers. My friend answered the phone yesterday about your problem, she couldn’t come today though. We’re from the Hawkins Post.”. He’d say it’d be wrong to bring someone who didn’t work at the newspaper, but then again, Barb was here. Though she worked at the library, so close enough?

“Oh! Oh, yes! Oh, my goodness. Oh. You look too young for reporters.” Driscoll remarked. “Uh, we get that a lot.” Barb nervously chuckled, even after having to do it many times for the things she went through, lying always made Barb extremely nervous.

Ms. Driscoll chuckled, opening the door for the two, “Follow me.”

“This house is very lovely.” Barb was taking notes, knowing Jonathan wanted to stick with taking pictures, “Um, if I can ask. Do you live here by yourself?”

“Yes. Jack, my husband, he passed away, what is it now, ten years ago.” Barb frowned, this poor sweet woman reminded her so much of her grandma, she felt so bad for her. Following Ms. Driscoll, the three of them entered the basement. “It’s right over there.” 

The two glanced at each other before Jonathan stepped forward, Barb following behind him. As they walked over, they spotted bags of fertilizer that were torn into. As Driscoll explained what happened, Jonathan got the feeling he wouldn’t need to read her mind to know that she was being honest.

A sudden crashing sound caught their attention, making the two of them jump up. Even two years later… memories of… of the Demogorgon attacking them and nearly killing them haunted them. Loud noises always scared them and flickering lights only made it worse.

“Oh! I forgot to mention.” Doris eagerly waved them over, approaching another section of the basement, “Come over here. I caught one of the little bastards.”. Jonathan and Barb looked at each other wide eyes, listening to the loud clanging as a monstrous shriek came from the cage.

Taking the bus, the two girls had finally arrived at the mall. “So, what do you think?” Max grinned as Eleven stepped out, she noticed the look on her face immediately though, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Too many people.” El nervously replied, “Against the rules.”

“Seriously? You have superpowers. What's the worst that could happen?” Oh, so many things. Nonetheless a smile grew on El’s face, the two making their way inside.

Taking El’s hand, Max led her to the center, smiling as the girl looked around in awe. “So, what should we do first?” Max asked. El looked at her wide eyes, having no clue. “You’ve never been shopping before, have you?” Max asked, El shaking her head in response, ‘Well, then I guess we’re just gonna have to try everything. Oh, come on!”. Grabbing El’s hand, the girl ran ahead, knowing exactly how to start this mall adventure.

Not too far from them, Mike, Will, and Lucas entered the mall. “I just… I don’t understand what we’re looking for.” Mike stated. “Something pretty and shiny that says ‘I’m sorry.’” Lucas explained. “What, just something that literally says ‘I’m sorry’?”

Oh, they had so much work to do here.

Entering one of the fashion stores, Eleven began going through the racks. Trying on all sorts of outfits to try and figure out what she liked. “You just try something on. Until you find something that feels like you. Not Hopper. Not Mike. Not Kali. Not even Nancy. You.”

Back at Melvald’s, Joyce had multiple books on electromagnetism in front of her. She needed to figure out what was going on, but nothing was working. But she knew someone else who would be able to help her through this. “Karen, I’m going on break!” Joyce shouted, running out of the store and to her car. “Joyce!” Karen exclaimed, huffing as she was long gone.

Plowing down the empty streets, Joyce made her way to the house of the person who knew all about this stuff. Going to the door, Joyce rang the doorbell,struggling with her books, there were so many of them. “Hello?” She called out, faintly hearing music coming from the garage, “Hello?”.

Just as Joyce got ready to leave, the garage door began opening up behind her, making her look back to see Mr. Clarke inside, waiting for her. “Mrs. Byers?” He asked after lifting up his mask, resulting in Joyce giving him an awkward wave.

Jonathan continued taking pictures of the rat. It was acting so strangely, running back and force, slamming into the cage. He attempted to read it’s mind but Barb advised him not too. It was just a precaution, he hadn’t used his powers since last year, where he put himself in a power induced coma for hours.

While Jonathan was trying and failing to get a good picture of the rat, Barb was upstairs mingling with Mrs. Driscoll. She didn’t want to make any calls and impose, plus she didn’t want Jonathan to get in trouble if this at all backfired. This job mattered a lot to him, and she knew that. “Thanks again for the lemonade, Mrs. Driscoll.” Barb said, taking a sip of it as she flipped through the newspaper, stopping when she noticed an add for Blackburn farm on it.

An aggravated huff left Jonathan, the boy ready to give up when a shriek left the rat, making him look back, pained squeals leaving it as it laid on it’s side. “What the hell?” Jonathan muttered, cautiously stepping forward. Swallowing anxiously, Jonathan ran upstairs, grabbing his things.

As he ran upstairs, he didn’t notice the flickering lights or how the rat exploding into a disgusting fleshy blob that skud onto the floor. It was the stuff of nightmares, forming into a strange creature as it ran across the basement shrieking.

“I said, what do you want?!” Billy screamed, staring at his identical copy. “To build.” Their voice echoed, “I want you to build.”. “To build what?” Billy questioned. “What you see.” They replied.

“I don’t understand.” Billy said, the sky above him clapping loudly with thunder before the world around him returned to normal. “I don’t understand! What do you mean? I don’t understand!”

Billy gasped as he returned to present time, grunting as he was brought back to the painful reality. He looked down, shocked to see that the part of his arm that was exposed to sunlight was now red, some of it growing painful blistering. 

Climbing off the chair, Billy stumbled forward, his breathing became labored. His skin was dripping sweat and he stumbled into some visitors as he headed for the bathroom. Nancy took notice immediately, setting her book down, looking over at Kali. “Hey, watch Holly for me, okay?” She said, setting her book down.

Finally making it to the bathroom, Billy slid the curtain open and quickly switched on the shower. Billy gasped, leaning against the wall as the cold water drenched his skin. His eyes wandered, spotting the black veins growing on his left arm. Just as he reached for it, an intense vision of the Mindflayer appeared in his mind, making him scream.

High-pitched screeches filled his mind, Billy yelling as he tried to block them out. He slid down the wall, clutching his ears as the water loudly pouted over his body, screaming in desperation as he tried to block out the noises.

“Billy?” A female voice called, making him look up to see Nancy Wheeler of all people coming over. “Billy.” Her voice echoed, the girl crouching down to his level. “Take me to him.” Her voice was distorted, looking him intently in the eyes.

“What..?” Billy questioned.

“Hello? I said what’s wrong with you? Are you hurt or something?” While Nancy didn’t like him at all, she still didn’t like the idea of anyone being hurt, especially after everything she’s witnessed in the last two years. “What’s going on here? I swore I heard screaming. Do I need to call you an ambulance?” Billy just stared at her, digging his nails into his leg, “Billy?”.

A scream echoed through the air as he lunged at her.


	7. Mall Adventure

Listening to Max’s advice, El began trying on various outfits in attempts to find ‘her look’. Even though the first few outfits were a bust, it was still really fun. Not too far from them, the boy’s were still trying to find the perfect gift for Eleven. Which wasn’t easy.

_ Who knew forgiveness was so expensive? _

While the girls were at it, they found the perfect pair of sunglasses for Max and the perfect outfit for Eleven. This mall adventure was perfect so far. And there was so much more left to experience. Their adventure was going on so much better than the boy’s adventure was. Between nearly walking into a lingerie store and being poisoned by the smell of perfume, the girl’s were doing way better.

The two arrived at a photobooth, getting tons of great pictures together. El even got to practice wearing heels, leaning on Max. She fell, but it was still a blast, the two laughing despite some girls giving them a look. They had their own plan of revenge though with these girls.

Following them to the food court, the two hid behind a pillar, watching the talking to an older boy. Focusing her powers on the center girl’s drink, El made it explode. All the girls gasped in shock as it exploded all over them. El and Max laughed, hastily running before they were seen. “See? What’d I tell you? There’s more to life then stupid boys.” Max giggled as they ran off, not knowing their boyfriends were only a few feet away.

“Can we please please D&D now?” Will asked. “No.” Both Lucas and Mike said in response.

Dustin played the recording again, looking over to Robin. “Wait, play that last part again.” Robin stated, pointing to the recorder. After some rewinding and thinking, they discovered their first sentence.  _ The week is long. _

After passing the news of progress to Steve, Robin went back to translating while Steve went back to working, passing two ice cream cones to Max and Eleven. “Thanks.” Both the girls said.

Steve rose a brow, looking at the brunette, “Wait a second. Nancy said you weren’t allowed to be out.”. The girls looked at each, Eleven laughing as the two of them ran off. “Um… okay.”

Carrying off their ice cream and shopping bags, the two girls left the mall. It was a great trip, they even decided to trade ice creams as they got outside. It was good, that is, until they spotted three familiar faces outside. “Oh, you gotta be shitting me.”

“Haven’t got that much.” Mike said, the three of them taking their bikes off the bike rack. “What if we split it?” Lucas offered.

“Isn’t this a nice surprise.” Max interjected, much to their boys' horror. Mike dropped his bike, holding up a shaky hand as he looked at her wide eyed. “What...are you doing here?” He asked.

“Shopping.” El replied, not removing her gaze from Mike. “This is her new style.” Max added, “What do you think?”

Mike quickly turned his attention to Max, “What’s wrong with you? You know she’s not allowed to be here.”

“What is she, your little pet?” Max retorted, El following her example quickly. “Yeah. Am I your pet?” She asked.

This caught Mike off guard. “What? No!”

“Then why do you treat me like garbage?”

“What?” What was even going on right now?!

“You said Nana was sick.” “She is. She is. She is sick.” Mike quickly defended, looking over at the other two for support. “Yeah, sick- she’s sick.” Lucas said, “She’s super sick. That’s why we’re here, actually. To get her a gift.”

Mike nodded along, turning back towards her, “Also, we’re here to get a gift for you. Just, we couldn’t find anything that suited you and I only have, like, $3.50, so that’s hard.”. It was really hard for the family right now, money was tight with Karen having no degree and trying to work when she never had. It was crazy difficult to deal with. So at least that part was actually true.

However, El could care less. “You lie. Why do you lie?” Eleven demanded. Mike was at a loose for words, not knowing what to do. Hearing the sound of tires, El looked back to see their bus coming up. Turning back to Mike, she took a step forward, “I dump your ass”. Max looked at her with surprise and was honestly proud of her. El quickly turned around, leaving the shocked boys behind as she headed to the bus, Max right behind her.

The two girls climbed onto the bus, giggling as they high fived each other. The bus drove past the three boys, Mike staring at the bus blankly…  _ she just dumped him…  _ Even if he had been an ass as of late, El was honestly one of the biggest things getting him through all this shit in his life…

Hopper was going through normalcy nowadays, resting any protestors that the Mayor wanted him to. It wasn’t his favorite thing to do but it was his job as Chief of the police. “Special delivery!” Flo called out, making the Chief look over relieved.

“Ooh, yeah.” Hopper laughed, taking the bag from her. “Is that the right one?” Flo asked. “Yeah. Yeah.” Hopper grinned, opening the shirt up to get a better look at it.

“That’s a lot of color for you Chief.” Powell remarked.

“It’s cutting edge stuff, alright?” Hopper shot back, stuffing the shirt back into the bag as he headed to his car.

Hopper arrived at Enzo's, the man working hard to make sure he looked great for tonight’s dinner. He set up a table for them, going ahead to order a few drinks for them when she would arrive. “I’ll start off with a Scotch, you can make that a double.” Hopper ordered. “Very good, sir.” The waiter remarked, walking off to grab his order.

“And I think we’ll have a bottle of red, as well.”  _ Tonight was going to be perfect. Whenever she showed up that is. _

Sadly Joyce had completely forgotten about their night. Her focus was learning as much as she could from Scott Clarke about electromagnetism. Something was going on and she needed to know what was happening now.

It was a nice thought as she did understand some of these things though, they were making some good progress though when he showed her what was going on. As cool as the demonstration was, she still didn’t know why this was happening at her house and Melvald’s. What was the connection here?

Back at Starcourt mall, the mall was completely dead. All the visitors were gone and most of the stores were closed. Of course, the only people that were there were Robin, Steve, and Dustin, who had finally cracked the phrase. “‘The week is long, the silver cat feets, when blue meets yellow in the west.’”

After that, they finally closed up shop, the trio heading out. “I mean, it just...it just can’t be right.” Steve stated.

“It’s right.” Robin retorted.

“Honestly, I think it’s great news.” Dustin interjected.

Steve scoffed, looking over to Dustin after he finished pulling the shutters down, “How is this great? I mean, so much for being great American heroes. It’s total nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense. It’s too specific, it’s obviously a code. Like a super secret spy code, meaning Dorian probably knows it.”

“Stop thinking your neighbor is evil, and it’s a total stretch.”

“I don’t know, is it?” Robin asked, “Listen, just for kicks let’s entertain the possibility that it is a secret Russian transmission. What’d you think they were gonna say, ‘Fire the warhead at noon’? I know my translation is correct, so ‘The silver cat feeds’. Why would anyone talk like that unless they were trying to mask the meaning of their message.”. “Exactly.” Dustin said.

“And why would anyone want to mask the meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?” Robin explained, Dustin continuing to agree with her, “So I guess that confirms your suspicion.”

“Evil Russians, and neighbor spy-” “DUSTIN.”

The trio kept walking forward, Dustin and Robin shooting ideas back and forth of what this phrase could mean. They kept going until they realized Steve was no longer behind them. “Where’s Steve?” Robin asked, the two lookin back to see him by one of the horses, searching for coins, “Hey, Steve. What are you doin?”

“Uh, it’s a quarter. I need- do either of you have a quarter?” Steve asked. A chuckle left Robin, the two of them walking over. “Sure you’re tall enough for that ride?” Robin teased. “Quarter!” Steve exclaimed, he wasn’t joking around. Taking the quarter, Steve quickly started the ride, bending down as it began moving.

“You need help getting up, pirate boy?” Robin asked, getting shushed by Steve, Dustin chuckling beside him. “Would you two shut up and listen?” Steve asked. The two listened, and slowly it dawned on them. The music from the recording was the exact same. And going off the info on the ride, they understood the truth.

_ That recording came from here. _

Roughly an hour has passed since he has arrived, Hopper downing his emotions with more wine and scotch. Picking up the drink, Hopper headed out. He was done with tonight. As Hopper left the restaurant, he bumped into a man, not knowing he’d have to worry about him later on.

A distant thunder was heard as Billy drove down the street, arriving at the steelwork once again. Stopping the car, Billy climbed out, walking to the trunk. Lifting the back up, it was revealed that Nancy was in the back. Still unconscious with her mouth gagged, hands and wrist tied.

_ It wanted him to build, so he’d build. _

Picking her up, Billy carried Nancy to the lower level of the steelwork. He made his way down the stairs, eventually laying her down gently on the floor. A whimper left Nancy, the girl slowly waking up. As she came to, she began to look around, muffled whimpers coming out of her as she spotted Billy, looking around frantically as she tried to figure out where she was. She attempted to get free, only for him to put his hands firmly on her shoulders, keeping her still.

Nancy whimpered as Billy leaned down, whispering into her ear, “Don’t be afraid. It’ll be over soon. Just stay very still.”. Billy slowly took the duct tape off of her mouth, standing back up as a strange noise caught Nancy’s attention.

A low roaring noise was heard, a strange figure making its way towards her, screeching at her. Horrified screams left Nancy as she saw the monster, knowing it must have been another monster from the Upside Down. “No! No!” Nancy screamed out, trying to desperately escape as Billy stood behind her, staring forward blankly as the creature moved forward, listening to Nancy’s screams echo throughout the building.


	8. Peculiar Days

It was already night, El and Max both at Hopper’s cabin. Hopper was still out on his date and Kali was drunk on the couch. After dropping Holly off to the Wheeler’s house, the woman helped herself to the beer in the fridge. The two girls enjoyed drawing on her face as she snored. 

El was sitting on her bed, going through the magazines that Max had brought while the redhead was dancing behind her, singing along to the song. A chuckle left Max, seeing El stop on a picture of a certain boy, “Oh, you found Ralph Macchio.”

“Macchio?”

“Yeah, he’s the Karate Kid. Hai-yah!” Max did a karate chop as an example, laughing as she startled Eleven. Both of the girls were giggling, El turning her focus back to the picture, “He’s so hot, right?” Max asked, “I bet he’s an amazing kisser, too.” El looked at her surprised when she said that, Max still had a boyfriend!

Max quickly shifted her tone, taking a seat on the bed in front of her. “Hey, um.. Is Mike a good kisser?” Max asked.

“I don’t know.” El responded, “He’s my first boyfriend.”  _ Okay, fair point.  _

“Ex-boyfriend.” Max remarked, noticing El’s look immediately, “Hey, don’t worry about it, okay? He’ll come crawling back to you in no time, begging for forgiveness. I guarantee you, him and Lucas are, like, totally wallowing in self-pity and misery right now. They’re like ‘Oh, I hope they take us back.’.”. Both of them laughed, enjoying this a little too much. “God, what I wouldn’t give to see their stupid faces.” Max said, before stopping as she saw the look that El had, “What is it?” El gave a small smirk, knowing what to do.

Turning up the static on her radio, El got to work, covering up her eyes. “Is this really going to work?” Max asked, “Holy shit, this is insane-” “Max.” “Yeah, quiet. I’m sorry.” Max said, sitting in quiet so El could focus on spying on their boyfriends.

“I see them.” Max got up from the bed, sitting on the floor by El. “What are they doing?” She asked. “Eating.” El said, walking towards the boys in the dark world, listening to them talk. At first Mike seemed upset, really upset, but Lucas shifted his focus that he had done nothing wrong. Lucas and Mike were talking about her, while brother was working on his game. “They say we are ‘species’.” El stated. 

“What?”

“‘Emotion, not logic.’” El repeated.

“What?” Max asked again, much more annoyed now.

Will was trying to convince the two to play, the game all set up, but they weren’t having it. They were trying to solve the ‘great mystery of the female species’ which somehow turned into Mike starting a loud burp that echoed in the darkness which resulted in a massive fart coming from Lucas.

El hastily took off the cover, the fart echoing in the distance. She looked at Max, who was extremely confused, “What happened?”. A chuckle left Eleven, the girl laying on the floor laughing. “What? What happened?” Max asked, even more confused by Eleven’s laughter, which soon made them both laugh.

Their laughter quickly stopped though as the sound of a car approaching caught their attention. Hopper grunted as he headed inside, noticing something wrong immediately, other than Kali being drunk off her ass and asleep on his couch with sharpie all over her fucking face. 

“Hey! Hey!” Hopper shouted, hurrying to El’s door, “When I say three inches, three-”. Hopper rushed through the door, surprised to find Max and Eleven on the floor reading magazines. 

“Do you know? Jeez!” Max exclaimed. “Yeah! Jeez!” El copied.

It took Hopper a second to realize what he had done, trying to back pedal quickly and fix this. “Oh, hey. I’m sorry. I thought that, uh-”

“Mike’s not here.” Max said.

“Max wanted to have… a sleepover. Is that… okay?” El explained. It was weird, she never had one before. The only thing she really had close to one was back when she was hiding in the Byers’ house… when she first met her brothers. After this she’d have to ask when her next day was to stay over, it had been awhile since they hung out. Plus, she missed Chester.

“Yeah.” Hopper quickly responded, “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your parents know about it?”. Max nodded in response. “Uh, yeah, it’s cool.” Hopper replied, “Yeah. That’s- That’s really cool.”. His words were slurred from all the drinks he had waiting for Joyce, which was obvious to the girl’s by him zoning out and holding the drink.

Both girls stared at him, Max finally asking, “Did you need something?”. “No, no. Uh, I’ll leave. I’ll just let you… I’ll leave you... “ Hopper closed the door behind him, a smile growing on his face knowing Mike was most definitely out of the picture now. Time to pour a drink, get on the recliner, and watch some good old shows.

Getting out notecards, a red piece of paper, and a bottle, the girls were getting ready for their next idea of fun. With eight note cards saying: Nancy, Steve, Dorian, Mrs. Wheeler, Mr. Clarke, Billy, Heather, and Dustin, it was ready. “Holy shit, I can’t believe we’re really doing this.” Max stated, before looking at Eleven, “Ready?”

“Ready.” Getting a good grip on the bottle, El gave it a spin, both girls watching in anticipation to see who it landed on. After a while it stopped, landing on Billy.

Knowing plenty about her step-brother, Max knew it’d be best to warn her, after all there was a lot of stuff Eleven doesn’t understand. “Okay, look, I should just warn you, if he's with a girl or doing something gross, just get out of there right away before you get scarred for life.” Max explained, bringing the radio over to the bed. Eleven wasn’t having any of it though, this was the name of the game. Slipping the black cloth over her eyes again, she was in the darkness once more.

Looking around, she saw his car, just… there, no one in, the light on. Walking towards it, El noticed how damaged it was. A strange noise was suddenly heard, making El look over, seeing him kneeled down not to far from her,

“I found him.” “What’s he doing?” “I don’t know.”

“Don’t be afraid.” Billy said, sounding...strange.

“He’s… on the floor… “

“It’ll be over soon.”

“...Talking to someone.”

Continuing towards him, the whimpering only got louder, making the girl’s stomach knot. “Just stay very still.” Billy said. El got closer, only a few feet behind Billy when he suddenly stood up. To her surprise, he turned around, the girl before him screaming loudly.

El let out a terrified exhale, gasping as she ripped the cover off of her eyes. “What is it? What happened?” Max asked. Eleven found herself at a loss for words, completely terrified at what she had just witnessed.

The sky was a dark gray, thunder rumbling as rain clouds filled up the sky. Karen was already long gone from the Wheeler house, was going to drop Holly off at the Sinclair’s since Nancy was still gone. All she had gotten from Kali was that she saw a friend at the pool then left. That woman, she didn’t understand why Hopper even let her stay!

The worst part of it though… was finding Holly fast asleep in her bed, holding a family picture. It broke her heart. Her and Ted had many difficulties in the past, but his death… it still hurt the family to this day. Karen was always gone at work so she could support the family, Nancy having to be another mother by running off to do errands and watch the girls, and Mike just… kept to himself a lot more, his attitude had worsened, but she couldn’t blame him.

Sighing, the woman woke up her daughter, knowing it was time to go. Nancy was somewhere and she needed to work.

Lucas and Mike were awoken suddenly by the sound of medieval music loudly playing, an empty coke can being tossed at Mike. “Ugh, mom, I’ll clean later!” The boy groaned. “What are you doing?” Lucas asked, taking a good look at Will in his wizard outfit. “Will? Can you please turn down the music?” Mike asked.

“Please address me by my full name.” Will simply said. “What?” “My full name!” Will snapped, slamming his staff into the ground.

“Oh my god. Okay, Will the Wise, can you please turn down the music?” Mike asked. “That is not music.” WIll retorted, “That is the sound of destiny! I have seen into the future and I’ve seen that today is a new day, a day… free of girls!”

_ Is this really what Will had done with his powers now that he had control of it mostly? Check on whether or not they talked about girls? Lame, at least Joyce could set her bills on fire or Jonathan could find good gossip. _

Still waking up, Lucas looked over to Will, “What is happening right now?”. “Will, come on.” Mike whined, wanting to sleep off his issues.

Will paid no heed to his friends, “A tribe of villagers are under threat from an evil force from the swamps of Kuzatan.”

“Will, it’s so early.”

“Is it? Is it early, Michael? Tell that to the villagers crying for your help, the children so frightened, they cannot sleep. Are you truly going to let them perish? Or are you going to come to their rescue and become the heroes you were always meant to be?” Will questioned. How was this the kid that convinced Dorian to play D&D with them a couple months ago?

Still needing a moment to process… all of that, Lucas decided to at least humor him. “Uh… can I at least shower first?” Lucas asked. It was a fair request.

_ All he wanted to do was to take a shower. _


	9. The Case of the Missing Wheeler

Going off what she had seen last night, Eleven and Max headed to the redhead’s home. “It’s gonna start pouring soon.” Max remarked, “We should be at the mall or, like, watching a movie or something.”

“You don’t believe me?” El asked, looking at her friend. 

“I believe you saw some super weird stuff, totally, but you said Will has sensed you in there before, right? Unless it has something to do with the fact that Will also has powers, I’m sure it might just be like that. Maybe Billy just… sensed you somehow.” Max explained.

It still didn’t sit right with her, “But the screams.”

“Yeah, i know, but here’s the thing.” She couldn’t believe that she was explaining this to him, “When Billy is alone with a girl, they make, like, really crazy noises.”. “They scream?” El asked. “Yeah, but, like… happy screams.”

This only made the girl more confused, “Happy screams? What is happy screams?”

“It’s like… I’m just gonna lend you my mom’s Cosmo.” She really did not want to get into the gross deeper details. As the girls got closer, something strange caught their attention, “His car’s not here. You really want to do this?”. El nodded in response, and the two made their way inside.

Max opened up Billy’s door, looking around to make sure he wasn’t here, “Why do I get the feeling we’re gonna find all kinds of wrong in here?”. Everything looked normal in his room, the ashtray, heavy metal playing on his radio, and porno magazines in his drawer. “Ew. Gag me with a spoon.”

Seeing nothing in there and not wanting anymore mental trauma, the girls made their way to the bathroom. Something that caught Eleven’s attention immediately was the bathtub full of ice bags. “Max?” El said. Max walked over, seeing no problem with this, “Ice. It’s just ice. Probably for his muscles or something. He works out like a maniac.”

El let out a shaky breath, looking to her left and noticed blood on the cabinet beneath the sink. Eleven opened up the cabinet, finding the trash can, so she took it out, finding something shocking.

“El, what is it?” Max asked, starting to get worried.

Picking up the object, both girls looked in horror at the small golden necklace that was red with blood, the small charm making it recognizable on whose necklace it was.

_ It was Nancy’s necklace… _

Jonathan was going through the pictures he had taken, checking over all of them. He was alone on this now, Barb having to go to work which was fair. It sucked for him though, trying to figure this out on his own. With his powers he had gotten a glimpse into the guy’s minds, which still made him shudder, but he knew that if this was something real, they couldn’t post it here. It’d never get through with him, so whatever he found, he’d send to Barb, see if she could find anything out at the library.

Something about all of this was giving him a cold chill, something he hadn’t felt in a very long time. His hands drifted to his side, taking a shaky breath as he remembered being in the Upside Down, seeing that beast… being in it’s world, seeing it’s mind.

Swallowing to keep his composure, Jonathan got back to working on the photos, knowing they’d have to be good if Barb was going to find anything.

Back at Scoops Ahoy, Robin was working on the translation again. Headphones in as she focused on the message, wanting to understand what it meant. It was interrupted though by the constant dinging coming from the counter, making her groan as she took off her headphones, looking over to see Erica and her friends waiting.

“I’d like to try the peanut butter chocolate swirl, please.” Erica said. Not today. “No, no more free samples today.” Robin stated. “Why not?” Erica demanded. “Because you’re abusing our company policy.” Robin retorted.

Erica scoffed, “Where's the pirate man at?”

“Sorry, he can’t help you. He’s busy.” Robin stated. “Busy with what?” Erica asked. Robin smirked, “Spycraft.”

Just as she had said, Steve and Dustin were spying around the mall. Using binoculars was extremely difficult with one eye, but he was making do. “Do you see anything?” Dustin asked.

“Uh, I guess I don’t entirely know what I’m looking for.” Steve responded. “Evil Russians.” Dustin stated. “Yeah, exactly. I don’t know what an evil Russian looks like.” Steve said, still trying to look around.

“Tall, blonde, not smiling. Or tall, goth, and not smiling.” Dustin stated. “Dustin, will you shut up about her?” Steve groaned, he loved his little buddy but this was a lot. It was always something with this little weirdo.

As Steve looked around he huffed, “I can’t believe this.”.

“What? What is it?” Dustin questioned, hoping he spotted a spy.

“I haven’t seen Nancy at all today. She usually always comes to the mall around this time with Holly and PB.” Steve muttered, damnit, he missed his girlfriend and dog.

“I get you feel like shit about Nancy, but if you’re not gonna focus, just gimme the binoculars.” Dustin stated, taking the binoculars from Steve, “So stop focusing on your girlfriend right now. We got to find us a Russian spy, Steve. You can make it up to her after.”. Steve groaned, shaking his head.

The sky was still gray, thunder booming as it began to rain. “Do you guys hear that? It sounds like… thunder.” Will still had his music playing, wanting this to be the perfect session, “But, no, wait. That’s not thunder. It’s… a horde of juju zombies! Sir Mike, your action.”.

“What should I do?” Mike asked, looking at Lucas.

“Attack?”

“Okay, I attack with my flail.” Mike said, picking up the dice. Will leaned over his stand to look, “Woosh! Your flail misses. Your flail clanks the stone, the zombie horde lumbers towards you, and… the juju bites your arm. Flesh tears! Aah! Seven points of damage.”

Mike wasn’t as immersed, “Oh no, my arm. Lucas, look, my arm.”. Lucas let out snicker, much to Will’s dismay, but he kept going.

“Sir Lucas, that zombie horde roars! Do you fight back or do you run?” Before he could respond, the phone rang, catching the group's attention. Despite Will’s protest, they answered the phone. As much as Mike hoped it was El, it wasn’t, just another telemarketer. Will continued nonetheless, just wanting to enjoy this game with his friend’s like they used to.

Much to the boy’s dismay, Mike found a solution that cut it all to a quick close. Conjure a spell that they would be sacrificed for so the jujus would die and as a result, save the Khuisar tribe. Done and done. “We all live on as heroes in the memories of the Kalamar.” Mike explained. “Victory.” Lucas said, high fiving Mike.

“Okay. Fine.” Will tossed down his stick, quickly taking off his hat, he was done trying, “You guys win. Congratulations.”. Will shut off his music, starting to gather his things.

“Will, I was just messing around.” Mike said, but Will didn’t care, taking off the robe, “Let’s finish for real. How much longer is the campaign?”. “Just forget it, Mike.” “No, you want to keep playing, right?”

“Y-Yeah, totally.” Lucas said.

“We’ll just call the girls afterwards.”

“I said forget it, Mike, okay?” Will snapped, “I’m going home.”. With all his things, Will headed up to the garage, wanting to leave despite the pouring rain. Mike followed after him, “Will, come on. You can’t leave. It’s raining. Listen, I said i was sorry, all right? It’s a cool campaign. It’s really cool. We’re just not in the mood right now.”

That just made him more upset, “Yeah, Mike. That’s the problem. You guys are never in the mood anymore. You’re ruining our party.”. “That’s not true.” Mike interjected. “Really? Where’s Dustin right now? See? You don’t know and you don’t even care. And obviously he doesn’t either and I don’t blame him. You’re destroying everything and for what? You’ve been treating us like trash and ignoring us ever since you two got together? I know you have been through hell, but it’s not fair Mike! It’s not fair to take it all out on us then just ditch us to swap spit with some stuid girl!”

“El’s not stupid, and it’s not fair that you get to say that! You don’t know what I went through!” Mike exclaimed.

“But I do, that’s it, Mike! You don’t get that I understand what happened to you! I was there for it! I saw it! I get it, better than any of the others. I’ve spent my life hiding who I am and broke my family rules to help you when you first vanished.” Will stated.

Seething, Mike snapped at his friend, “It’s not my fault you’re a freak that doesn’t like girls.”. Mike shook his head, sighing. “I’m not trying to be a jerk. Okay?” Mission failure than asshole, “But we’re not kids anymore. I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? We were just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?

“Yeah…” Will sniffled, “I guess I did.”. Getting on his bike, Will rode off, leaving Mike in the garage.

It was still pouring when the girl’s got to the pool. El remembered that Jonathan has done a photo even for the paper, taking pictures of people at the pool. All she had to do was see if she could find a picture of Nancy. The two walked around, passing Heather. The brunette lifeguard seemed heated. “Heather, hey. Have you seen Billy?” Max asked.

An aggravated huff left Heather, the girl shaking her head, “No. I haven’t actually. But if you see your step-brother, you better tell him he better have a good ass apology for standing me up on dinner or he’s going to be single.”. The two girls were surprised as she stormed off, and as curious as they were, they knew what they needed to focus on.

Doing a little searching, they finally found the photo wall. Now to just find a good one with Nancy’s picture on it. Looking around, Max finally found it, pointing at a picture in the far left corner of Nancy wearing her new swimsuit posing with Steve. “Do you think you can find her?” Max asked.

El nodded, tearing the picture off the wall, ripping Steve's portion out to let her focus better. 

_ Hold on Nancy, they’ll find you. _


	10. Spycraft

With the goggles on, showers running, and the picture of Nancy in front of her, El was ready. Taking a deep breath, she slid the goggles over her face. It was time to find her.

El found herself in the darkness once again, the first thing she saw was a mailbox that looked...familiar? The splashing echo of her footsteps was the only noise she could hear as she approached the mailbox. Standing in front of it, El put a hand on the mailbox, watching as a brown door materialized out of nowhere.

“What do you see?” Max asked. “A door. A brown door.” El responded.

Letting go of the mailbox, El approached the door. As she opened the door, she found a bathtub not far from it after she had opened it. Leaving the door open behind it, Eleven approached the bathtub, seeing it full of water and ice. 

As she looked out of it, Nancy suddenly shot out of the bathtub gasping, startling Eleven. “Help me.” Nancy’s voice echoed, being pulled back into the water immediately. 

“Nancy!” Eleven screamed, trying to reach for her as the bathtub vanished. The girl gasped, grabbing onto nothing but she could still see her. Nancy screamed as she was pulled under, her hands shooting upwards to try and grab onto the girl. El dunked her head into the water, reaching out her hand screaming as she tried to get to her.

El tore the goggles off, gasping frantically. “What happened? El!” Max asked, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Eleven was panting heavily, tears running down her eyes as the girl held her head sniffling.

Despite being pissed off about being stood up, Hopper followed Joyce to the lab. His mood was even more off the rails knowing Kali would be the only one at home with El and Max. The woman was a terrible example, yet El adored her! 

But that didn’t matter, yet. He needed to prove to her nothing was going on. Owens and all his men left, nothing was going on! Taking the bolt cutters and flashlight from the back of his truck, the two headed towards the lab. As powerful as Joyce was, he knew her powers wouldn’t do jack shit in this rain. Jesus, to think this was all for Joyce losing it over her freaking magnets.

Chopping the chains off of the door, the two of them entered the lab. It looked exactly the same from when they were here last time. “Hello? Anyone home?” Hopper called out, “We come in peace.”. As Hopper continued to make his point, Joyce looked forward in the room, silently remembering what had happened.

_ Ted panted, standing straight, looking at his wife and daughter with a smile when a demodog knocked him to the ground. A scream of anguish tore through Nancy, watching in horror as the monster wasted no time tearing into her father. _

Joyce looked at the spot silently before following Hopper out. That poor family was destroyed that day. It was horrible. She hoped nothing else was going to happen to them. This place was always going to be a painful reminder of what happened and what could have happened.

Dustin was still armed with the binoculars, looking around the mall for any potential spies when he saw it. Two potential suspects. “Target acquired. Two of them. Ten o’clock and six o’clock.” Dustin said.

“Give me that.” Steve took the binoculars, spotting the strange blond man and a familiar goth, “Shit, Dustin are-”. “Steve, trust me on this one. They both have duffle bags. Why would she need a duffle bag? Knowing her, it’s full of guns or super illegal dangerous shit. You’ve seen the shit she cares.”.  _ Oh, ask Jonathan, he knew all too well. _

A groan left Steve, shaking his head, “Fine. I’ll take Dorian, you get the Russian.”. The two nodded, sneaking off after their targets.

_ Don’t make him regret this Dustin. _

Following after Dorian through the mall, he felt like an idiot. This was probably another one of Dustin’s theories on how she’s evil, but knew Dustin wouldn’t shut up about it unless he did it. It was hard to follow her through the crowded mall, but he knew the biggest struggle was not letting her see him. If she saw him at all, she’d know something was up immediately.

She turned around a few times much to his fear, but she kept going, eventually entering a Victoria’s Secret. “What the…?” Steve whispered, watching her tie up her black and red hair into a bun, looking around the store. His eye widened seeing her observe a pair of pink lace underwear, he didn’t realize she’d even touch pink-

Dorian looked up, her eyes widening. “HARRINGTON!” She shouted, much to his horror. “Oh, shit!” Steve exclaimed, running back to work, terrified hearing the loud stomps of her leather boots gaining on him.

_ Okay, she was definitely clear! _ __  
  


Robin sat on the counter, rereading the phrase once more. They were missing something, they had to be missing something for this code. Just as she flipped through the translation book, a knock caught her attention. Huffin, she climbed through the window into the back room, making her way to the door. Opening the door, she found a man waiting for her.

“Delivery for you.”

“Thank you.” Robin took the box, setting it down then returning to sign the clipboard. As she did, she noticed something about the man.  _ Lynx Transportation.  _ As he left, she stepped into the hall, seeing the white lynx symbol on the back of his uniform. “Silver cat. Silver cat.” She said.

Steve and Dustin returned to Scoops Ahoy, both of them deciding it’d be best not to mention who they thought the Russians were. “Nothing on our end. What about-” Before he could finish his sentence, Robin rushed past him, hurrying out of the shop.

Robin hurried out into the center of the mall with her notepad, climbing onto one of the plant stands, “A trip to China sounds nice.” She looked around the mall, “A trip to China sounds nice. A trip to China sounds nice.”. As she looked around she saw it, Imperial Panda. “A trip to China sounds nice.” Robin gasped, quickly checking her notes again, “If you tread lightly… When- When blue and yellow meet in the west. When blue meets yellow… in the west.”

_ Holy shit, she figured it out. _

“Robin. What are you doing?” Steve asked. “I cracked it.” Robin replied. “Cracked what?” Steve questioned, watching Robin hop down. “I cracked the code.” Robin stated.

It was still storming in Hawkins, Jonathan and Barb hiding out in the red room. “Are you sure about this? Maybe I’ve already gone too far.” Jonathan muttered. 

“Jonathan, please, you don’t need your powers to know that something is seriously wrong. We’ve both seen what it’s like out there, and this is bringing back way too many bad signs to just be a coincidence. We need to trust our guts and go find the proof you need to get through to those assholes.” A sigh left Barb, taking Jonathan’s hand, “I believe in you. So I need you to believe me. So come on, let’s go get that rat already. You won’t get fired, I promise you’re going to be okay.”. Jonathan gave a slow nod, Barb giving him a quick hug before the two of them left.

Hopper and Joyce continued through the lab, everything looked the exact same as how it had been left. “Nobody’s home. All the cavities have been filled. I watched them do it, Joyce. It’s over.”

It was hard to believe that it was actually over. Hopper, Karen, and Joyce going through the upside down to find Mike. Following Eleven into the lab to shut that thing down once and for all. It was so hard to believe it was… just over.

“It’s over.” Hopper said.

Joyce sighed, “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”. 

“You’re not losing your mind.” Hopper said, “Not any more than I am. You know, the other day, I almost shot Betsy Payne’s dog because it came rushing at me from behind this fence, and I… I swear to God, I thought this was one of those things. You know that I’m keeping a close eye on things, right?”. “Yeah.” “Because it’s important to me. It is important to me that you feel safe. That you and your family feel safe. That everyone feels safe. That all those kids feel safe. I want everyone to feel like this can still be there home. Karen’s been selling stuff and touching up the house for the market. She shouldn’t have to do that.”

A whimper left Joyce, nodding. While she wanted Karen to stay, she knew why the woman wanted to leave. “She hasn’t even told the kids yet.” Joyce sniffled, rubbing her eyes.

Hopper sighed, sitting near Joyce, “After Sarah… I had to get away. I had to get the hell out of that place, you know? Outrun those, uh… those memories, I guess. I mean, why do you think I ended up back in this shithole?”. A small chuckle left Joyce, looking at him with a small smile. “But you have something that I never had. You have people that know what you’ve been though. What you sacrificed to keep your boys safe. You have people that care about you. Right here. In Hawkins.”

“You mean. You mean, people like Scott Clarke.” Alright, time to kill the teacher, “That was a joke.”. “Mmm.” As annoyed as he was, Hopper couldn’t help but chuckle.

The moment was cut short when a clanging sound caught their attention, making them look over. “What’s that?” Joyce asked. Hopper looked over, before deciding to check out the noise. It seemed like they weren’t alone as Hopper watched a door close in front of him. Keeping a secure grip on his flashlight, Hopper took out his gun. No room for taking chances now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna gloss over Hopper and Joyce's plot as it remains the exact same. I will only write about the critical parts, but I don't wanna rewrite the same thing.


	11. The Brown Door

Despite the pouring rain, Mike and Lucas rode up to the Byers’ house, Mike knocking on the door. Damnit, Will was right about one thing. He had gone through shit and he had been taking his frustrations out on his friends. It wasn’t fair, he needed to admit that.

“Will! Will, I’m sorry, man, all right? I was being a total asshole. Please, can you just come outside and we’ll talk? Will!” Mike shouted, continuing to pound on the door. Lucas went to the window, knocking on it, “Hey, Will! Come on, man! We’re sorry! Will!”

Will sat inside Castle Byers, going through some old magazines. The castle was holding up well in the storm, better be worth it considering how sick he and Jonathan got while building it. Letting out an aggravated huff, Will tossed the magazine down, looking around. As he looked around, something caught his eye. Their old D&D board.

_ “Something is coming, something hungry for blood.” Mike said. “What is it?” Will asked. “What if it’s the Demogorgon?” Dustin asked, “Oh, Jesus, we’re so screwed if it’s the Demogorgon.”. “It’s not the Demogorgon.” Lucas stated. _

Will looked behind him, finding his old drawings.

_ “Will, your action!” Mike exclaimed. “Fireball! Fourteen!” Will shouted, all of them cheering in joy. “Direct hit! Will the Wise’s fireball hits the thessalhydra!” _

A sniffle left Will, looking at the wall of photos. There were ones of them as Ghostbusters for Halloween, a group photo for the science fair, a picture Jonathan had taken of him and Dorian dancing at the Winter Ball, and a picture of him, Jonathan, and Eleven together.  _ Family.  _ That’s what she had written at the bottom of the paper. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he took the halloween picture, his hands be

_ Will, Lucas, and Dustin rode up to the school on their bikes, singing the Ghostbusters theme. “Who are you gonna call.” They sung out, parking their bikes into the bike rack. “Ghostbusters!” Nancy shouted from Barb’s car as they pulled out of the parking lot, as they had just come to drop Mike off. Mike groaned, shaking his head as he walked over to the others. _

“Stupid.” Will whimpered, “So stupid.”. Crying, Will began tearing apart the photo, tearing up the pictures inside the castle. “So stupid.” He sobbed, taking the metal bat and he got out. Heading back out into the rain, Will clutched the bat, getting ready to destroy the castle when a searing pain filled his head. “AUGH!” The boy cried out, dropping the bat to clutch his head.

_ A loud scream filled the air, Dorian struggled underneath a man as she tried to grab her gun. As the two struggled, a loud gunshot went off, Dorian shouting in pain, her face scrunched up. Another vision came, a loud monstrous screech filling the air along with screams coming from his friends. _

Will panted heavily as he came to, finding himself on the ground, blood pouring down his nose. A frantic whimper left him as he stood up on shaky knees, understanding what his vision meant, looking up as he heard Mike and Lucas coming. By the look on Mike’s face, he sensed it too. He was back.

Barb and Jonathan ran through the pouring rain, arriving to Mrs. Driscoll’s door step. Barb decided to knock, trying to look through the window, “Mrs. Driscoll? Hello? Jonathan, can you see if you can find anything?”

“I think I’ve mentioned enough I hate peeping in on people’s minds.” Jonathan stated.

Giving a small eye roll, Barb tried the door knob, shocked to find the front door unlocked. “Woah.” This felt wrong, but they needed to go in, there was a chance that she could be seriously hurt and would need help. Opening up the door, the duo made their way inside her home. Finding her missing, they entered the basement last. “Mrs. Driscoll?” Barb called out, heading down the stairs with Jonathan.

The two made it down, spotting a back of fertilizer that had been ripped apart. As they looked at the bad, a strange noise caught their attention, making both of them look up. Jonathan looked at Barb, arming himself with a hammer before slowly moving forward. The two rounded the corner, shocked as they found Mrs. Driscoll ripped into the bags of fertilizer and it looked like she was eating it.

“Mrs. Driscoll…?” Jonathan gasped out, the woman looking up at them gasping.

Night had come, the mall empty. Minus Steve, Robin, and Dustin on the roof spying on the loading area. It was hard with Steve’s one eye and the pouring rain though, but this was their biggest lead. “Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes.” Robin explained.

Using the binoculars, Dustin pointed out the whistling man. He had at least three boxes, who knows what was even in those things. Their curiosity peaked when they opened a door, revealing more boxes. Holy hell, what was going on here?

Wanting a better look, Steve attempted to steal the binoculars from Dustin, resulting in it making a loud clunk. The three gasped, quickly ducking down, praying the guards hadn’t heard that. All of them took deep breaths, their hearts racing anxiously. Not wanting to chance it, the three left. “Well, I think you found your Russians.” Robin remarked as they got out.

Hopper continued through the lab, trying to locate the noise. As he made his way through, Hopper stopped at an open door in an empty room. “This is Hawkins Chief of Police! Come out with your hands up!” Hopper announced, “You hear me? Hands up!”. Getting no response, Hopper kicked open the door, finding the sliding door open. He took a deep breath, looking outside at the pouring rain.

Just as he was looking away, the figure behind him grabbed him, Hopper yelling as the stranger began punching him in the side. The two men struggled, Hopper being swung around and hit repeatedly. The man tried to fight back but it was no use, the stranger knocking him down with a kick to the knee then one to the face.

“Hopper! Hopper!” Joyce cried out upon hearing all the chaos. As she made her way through the lab, she found him in one of the rooms, on the ground and injured. “Hopper! Hopper!” She tried shaking him, but he was out cold. She looked up hearing an engine reev, coming outside just in time to see someone riding off on a motorcycle.

The rain was falling even harder somehow, Max riding her bike back to her house. She didn’t understand how, but El saw her house, so they were going back. “Are you sure about this?” Max asked, stopping in front of her house. El nodded, she was positive.

Setting her bike out in the front, the two of them made their way inside, hearing music playing. Making their way inside, the two heard laughter. In the living room was Billy, Susan, and Neil, all eating in the dining room as music played. “Billy, I didn’t realize how funny you were.” Susan chuckled, taking a sip of her water. Her laughter stopped when Neil gave her a look though, the woman going quiet.

Billy was the first to notice the two girls, a smile forming on his face, “Max.”

“Uh, hey, guys. Sorry for just, barging in. I came to grab more stuff, we were gonna do a double slumber party thing, if that’s okay mom.” Max asked, knowing they’d need an excuse. This still made no sense to her, what was going on.

“That’s fine, but it’s just surprising to see you is all.” Billy said, walking over to the two girls, “Is something wrong?”.

“We just wanted to grab some stuff for me for our slumber party and to make sure that everything was okay.” Max explained.

“Okay? Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Billy questioned. “Where is she?” El interjected, she was tired of playing around. He hurt Nancy somehow, Nancy was her friend, she wanted to know where she was now and know she was okay.

This surprised BIlly, looking at the other girl, “I’m sorry. Where is who?”

Just as he said that, Nancy came out of the kitchen. Dressed up really nice, her long hair done in a braid, wearing a pretty dress and carrying a tray of cookies. “Well, they’re a little burnt, I’m sorry-” Nancy stopped in her tracks when she spotted the two.

“Nancy, look who’s come to visit. Maxine and, I’m sorry, I did not catch your name.” Billy said. El looked over at Billy, staring directly at him knowing something was wrong with her friend. Nancy hated Billy after what he did to Steve, she wouldn’t be with him on her own accord. “El.” Eleven said, still staring at him. “El. Now, what is it you were saying, El?” Billy asked, “You were looking for somebody?”

Eleven looked over at Nancy, confused by this. “I saw you-” “Your mom. At the pool. She said she hasn’t seen you today, so we got worried. Looked for you.”.

“We were hanging out. Nancy wasn’t feeling so hot today, so she stayed over so we could nurse her back to health. But you're feeling just fine right now, right, Nancy?” Billy explained, looking over to Nancy. “I’m feeling so much better. Just needed a day to myself. Do you girls want a cookie?” Nancy asked, holding out the tray, “They’re fresh out of the oven.”

Eleven and Max headed back outside, Max grabbing her bike. Even if they had found her, something felt wrong. Really wrong. They couldn’t do anything here without causing a ruckus, so they headed back to El’s place, going to think and plan. 

Billy watched the two girls leave, remembering where he had seen the other girl. It was her, it was her that closed the gate. That left them here.

Going back inside to join the dinner, Billy made his way back. “Is everything okay?” Nancy asked. “Yes. Everything’s alright.” Billy replied, taking a seat.

“It’s a shame Maxine didn’t want to stay, but it’s good she found her own friends. Although, I really don’t like the idea of her going out in a storm like that.” Susan remarked, sipping at her water.

“It’s disrespectful. This is a family dinner. If they crash, they deserve it.” Neil stated.

Just as Susan reached out for her water again, she knocked it over, gasping as she quickly started to clean off the table cloth. “Are you okay, Mrs. Hargrove?” Nancy asked.

“I’m alright dear, just a little lightheaded.” The woman replied, keeping her head down to avoid Neil’s glare. Billy sat in his spot, eating casually as he knew what this meant, Nancy staring back at him blankly. 

“I’m really sorry. Um, if you’ll excuse me… I’m going to go and lie down for a bit.” Susan got up from her seat, taking a few steps before collapsing on the ground. Neil swore to himself, getting up and made his way over to his wife. 

While his dad was busy, Billy got the chloroform ready, letting Nancy lead in with the wine bottle. Nancy approached Neil, striking him hard in the head, knocking him down. Billy got up with the rag, making his way over to Nancy’s side. “What the Hell is wrong with you?! I fucking knew-!” Neil grunted as Nancy pulled his hair back, putting the rag over his mouth, holding it there until he was out cold. A smile formed on Billy’s face, knowing the beginning was here.


	12. Code Red

Max and El had made it back to El’s place, Eleven brushing her teeth as it was almost bedtime. As she brushed her teeth, Billy’s words rang through her head.

_ “I’m sorry, I did not quite catch your name.” Billy’s voice echoed. The lights flashing as he turned around to see her. El picked up Nancy’s bloody necklace, looking at it in horror. “What happened?” Max asked as El approached the icey bathtub. Nancy shot out of the bathtub, looking at El, “Help me.”. “No!” El screamed as she was pulled back into the water. _

Eleven stared at herself in the mirror before returning to her room. “Which one?” Max asked, pulling out two comics that she had brought over from home. “I don’t know.” El said, sitting on the bed beside her. “Hey, there’s nothing to worry about anymore, okay?” Max stated.

Even though Max tried, El was still worried. “It doesn’t make sense.” She said, her voice wavering lightly.

“What doesn’t make sense?” Max asked.

“Nancy. The blood. Her necklace. The ice.” El responded.

“Nancy had a fever, so she took a cold bath, but she’s better now. Yeah, it’s weird that Billy of all people was taking care of her, but I’m sure it was for Holly. That has to be it. I don’t know where that blood came from, but… we saw her. We both saw her. She’s totally fine.”

Something about all of this just felt wrong still, “What about Billy?”. “What about him?” Max asked. “He seemed wrong.” El stated.

A chuckle left Max, not as worried as he friend, “Wrong is kind of like his default. But it’s nice to know he’s not a murderer, because that would’ve sucked.”. Max chuckled, and slowly El smiled too, but something still didn’t sit right with her. Not wanting to dwell on it anymore, El let Max tell her all about Wonder Woman.

Jonathan and Barb were still at Mrs. Driscoll’s place, the two of them watching as Mrs. Driscoll freaked out as she was taken into the ambulance, a sickening feeling overwhelming them all. As they were loading her into the ambulance, the two teens became terrified hearing how the woman frantically yelled. Mrs. Driscoll was loaded into the ambulance, outstretching her hand screaming, “I have to go back! I have to go back!”. As the ambulance drove past the steelworks, Mrs. Driscoll managed to free an arm, shrieking as she reached out for it.

Inside the Steelworks, Neil woke up, panting as he looked around. The man grunted, straining against his bindings. Susan whimpering beside him, starting to cry in fear. The two looked up hearing a noise, seeing Nancy approach them. “Hello, Mr. Hargrove. Mrs. Hargrove.” Nancy approached the couple, and slipped the gag off of Mrs. Hargrove.

“Sweetheart, please, you two don’t have to do this. Please.” Susan whimpered, turning her attention to Billy despite her husband’s muffled yelling, “Please, don’t do this. Billy, think of Maxine. Just stop this, please.”

“It’s too late to stop it. You’ll see.” Nancy stated, standing back up. “Oh God, no.” Susan sobbed softly.

Billy approached his father, removing the gag from his mouth. He ignored his father’s shouting and swears, looking at the two of them with a vacant expression, “Try not to move.”. 

“Please, Billy! No, don’t leave us down here!” Susan pleaded, watching Nancy and Billy go up the stairs. “Get the hell back here! When I get out of here, Billy-!” The two stopped when a strange growling caught their attention, making them look back. As the two looked, a terrifying beast made its way forward, roaring at the petrified couple. It’s heavy footsteps echoing as it approaches, snarling as it gets closer to it’s new victims.

Neil struggled against his bindings while Susan could only look forward in horror, completely frozen in fear. The beast growled, shooting out two meaty tendrils at their faces, adding two more victims to it’s army.

A cough left Hopper, the man groaning as he woke up. “Careful.” Joyce’s voice echoed, god his head was hammering. Felt worse than the usual hangover. “Here.” Taking a seat by him, Joyce had the painkillers and water ready.

“Joyce.” Hopper whispered, relieved that she was okay. The moment was once again ruined though when he started gagging, and thankfully Joyce had a bowl nearby. The woman awkwardly looked away as he threw up into the bowl, “There. It’s okay.”. Boy, she was so glad the girls haven’t left their room yet. They didn’t not need to see this and ask questions. Kali was in there too if she remembered right, slept on the floor something because she got drunk again. The woman didn’t ask any questions about Hopper, she was too out of it.

_ God, she was such a weird lady. _

After some talking, Joyce tried to convince Hopper he needed rest, him nearly going naked in front of her, and some awkward talk while trying not to look at him. Seeing his clothes were still wet, Hopper got dressed up in his shirt from the date. The two of them were discussing this thug that attacked Hopper, Joyce doing terrible at remembering. As they discussed it though, something caught his attention as she described him. He wasn’t driving a car.

Max and El were still laying in the bed. The radio was going off, Lucas repeatedly calling them. Getting fed up, Max turned off her radio, enjoying the silence until the phone rang. Kali groaned, holding her head, “God, why are kids so annoying?”.”You gotta be kidding me.” Max scoffed, getting out of the bed and picking up the phone, “She’s sleeping. Go away.”

“This is Will. Do not hang up, please. Something happened, something bad. All of us could be in danger.” Will explained, shuddering at the memory, “Come over to my house, okay? Bring Eleven. I promise, we’ll explain everything.”.

Kali and Eleven were both looking over now, curious by the look on Max’s face. “What did he say?” El asked.

Setting the phone down, Will frowned, “T-Try Dustin again.”. After those visions, he was terrified. Where had he been?

“We’ve already tried. He won’t answer.” Mike responded, holding his head, still shaken up from sensing the Mindflayer. “Just try again.” Will said. 

Lucas sighed, trying again, “Dustin, do you copy? I repeat, this is a code red.”

Back at Starcourt, Dustin was once again on the roof, watching the entrance. “That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun. Whatever’s in this room, whatever’s in those boxes, they really don’t want anybody finding it.” Dustin explained to Robin and Steve.

“But there’s gotta be a way in.” Robin said.

“Well, you know… I could just take him out.” “Take who out?” “The Russian guard. What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It’s easy.” Steve remarked.

“Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?” Dustin asked.

“Yes, Dustin, I did. And that’s why I would be sneaking.” Steve responded, making a spying motion with his fingers.

“Ah, yes. We, please, tell me this, and be honest, have you ever actually… won a fight?” Dustin asked. “Okay, that was one time-” “Twice. Jonathan. Year prior?” Dustin said.

“That doesn’t count, he has powers.”

“Why wouldn’t it? It’s like he can make you think to let yourself get beat up by him. Plus, it looks like he beat the shit out of you. You got a fat lip, crooked neck, swollen eye, a lot of blood.” As the two bickered, something caught Robin’s eye. “That just might work.” She said, getting up from her seat. 

Robin rushed out of her seat, stealing the money from the tip jar. “Robin. Hey, Robin! Hey, what- what are you doing?” Steve asked, following her out.

“I need cash.” Robin said.

“Well, half of that’s mine.” Steve remarked, “Where are you going?”. 

“To find a way into that room, a safe way. And, in the meantime, sling ice cream, behave, and don’t get beat up. I’ll be back in a jiff.” Robin hurried off, leaving the two boys at the counter.

Jonathan was waiting in the hall, the silence deafening. Officer Callahan had brought him back after that insanity last night, currently talking with Tom. Barb was waiting outside, feeling guilty for pushing Jonathan on. She knew how much this job meant to Jonathan. It was fair if he lost it because of this.

Soon enough Callahan left the office, Jonathan making his way in. “I can’t believe this, Jonathan. You have gone behind my back twice now, doing things out of your job and bringing in two girls that don’t even work here. I have worked here for twenty-five years now, and something that I know we have that big papers don’t is trust. Trust of our community. You’ve been going against something big, facts.”.

As Tom continued to shout at him, Jonathan remained silent, knowing what he said was right. He should’ve just ignored it, he was too paranoid from everything… he had to be. Right? He was just crazy… right…  _ crazy? _

“You’re fired, Jonathan.”

Kali drove her car up to Will’s place, climbing out with the two girls. “If this isn’t serious, I’m going to strangle that boy. My hangover is killing me.” Kali groaned, following them in.

“I didn’t think it was anything at first. But… now I think I just didn’t want to believe it could happen again.” Mike still didn’t want to believe it, just wanting this nightmare over with, “The first time I felt it was when we saw the movie. Day of the Dead.”

“The power went out… that’s what...usually happens.” Will grimaced, flickering lights of any kind terrified them all now. Kali was confused by this mention, but El whispered that she’d explain those parts later when they were alone.

“Then I felt it again, when me and Eleven left Nelson field. And when we found you outside Castle Byers, I felt it again.” Mike explained.

“What does it feel like?” Max asked.

Mike swallowed anxiously, “It’s almost like… it’s this sinking feeling, that goes through your entire body, but this is worse. It’s freezing, you can’t breathe. I’ve felt it before, whenever he was close.”. Memories of seeing him in the red sky haunted him, making his stomach twist.

“When that thing was close?” Kali asked. Mike nodded, “The Mind Flayer.”.

“I closed the gate.” El said.

“But what if he never left?” Mike asked, “What if we locked him in here with us?”. Max and El looked at each other silently.

Grabbing a piece of paper, Mike scribbled out the Mind Flayer, it was hard to forget what that monster looked like after it had ruined your life like that. “This is the Mind Flayer. When he’s all together. Back on the field, a part of him controlled me.” Mike wiped some of it onto his hand, leaving it on his hand, “But my mom got it out of me, then Eleven closed the gate. That still leaves the part of it that controlled me. What if it’s in our world still? In Hawkins. Like it never got through in time.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Kali interjected, “We saw them die. All those dog things when Joyce and I were defending the lab. After El closed the gate, they were all dead.”

“We can’t take any chances…” Will said, shivering at the memory of his visions, “The worst is here… he’s back.”

“Yeah, meaning he’s going to need a new host. Someone to attach to.” Mike stated. “A new host.” Lucas said.

“How can you tell if someone’s a host?” El asked, getting the same sickening feeling as Max before the other girl nodded, confusing the others. El swallowed a bit, fishing something out of her pocket before holding up Nancy’s necklace, the blood still staining the gold chain. The three boys looked over to it, all having the same thought. Mike stared at the necklace wide eyed, looking up at El with a look of sadness and fear.

_ Nancy…. _


	13. Operation Vent

Hopper and Joyce arrived at town hall, both knowing that he was involved in this somehow. Hopper opened up the door, passing his receptionist, “Hey, is he in?”.

“Yes, he’s busy at the moment, but-” “Great.” Hopper said, coming through the door, finding the mayor on the phone. Good, just the two of them. As the mayor ended the call, Hopper locked the door behind him, he wanted this asshole to himself. 

“Jim.” The mayor said, seeing the chief take a seat across from him.

“I know. I know. You’re busy. I’m gonna make this fast, I promise.” Hopper stated. “Is there uh, is there a problem?” The mayor nervously asked. “Yeah. You might say that. Um, I’m looking for the name of a guy.” Hopper said.

“The name of a guy.” The mayor repeated, a tad confused.

“Yeah, I think you might know this guy. He was here the other day. Rides a motorcycle.” Hopper said, remembering the man passing him as he waited inside, “Big build, square jaw, dark hair. He’s probably military, maybe ex-military? Is this ringing… any bells?”.

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Larry chuckled.

_ Bullshit. _

The mayor continued with his bullshit, trying to state that the guy was just some plumber. He knew that wasn’t it. Knowing his secrets, he could easily blackmail him with his drug issues and his affair with his secretary. Unfortunately, Larry could do the exact same. Bringing up how he could just call Tom about Hopper’s misdeeds and it’d be over for him, like that.

After some tossing him around, breaking his nose, threatening to break his finger, Hopper finally got the mayor to tell him what he needed. Now all they needed to do was pay him a visit at home and get those records. There, was it really so hard?

Barb was driving Jonathan home, frowning as she looked over to him. “It’s not your fault, Jonathan. Don’t think that for a single second, please.” She pleaded, knowing he’d find some way to turn this against himself.

“It is my fault, Barb. He’s right… he’s right. I was making a sick woman worse. All because… because I was so convinced something was wrong. I kept thinking I didn’t need to use my power’s to make sure it was real because I was so sure by myself that it was real… but it wasn’t. I’m an idiot, I should’ve stayed out of it.” Jonathan took a shaky breath, resting his head on the window.

She sighed, leaning forward to rest her hand on his knee, “You aren’t to blame… I convinced you to follow your gut. I know how sure you were of this, so don’t call yourself an idiot okay? You’ve seen enough of Hell that you were scared this was related. I get it… I can’t… I know I can’t handle it coming back, and I know for sure Nancy and her family can’t either. None of us can. You were protecting us.”. Barb gave Jonathan’s knee a squeeze, a tear running down her cheek, “It’s gonna be okay.”.

“No… No, it’s not.” He took a shaky breath, “It won’t be.”. This was his chance to help out, possibly save up for college… but it was all down the drain. “I ruined everything for nothing.” Jonathan said. Barb opened her mouth before closing it, frowning, keeping her hand on his knee though as she drove him home.

With her twenty dollars from the tip jar, Robin got not just the map from Starcourt, but some help. Boy, Steve and Dustin’s face was priceless when Dorian walked in beside her.

“Why is she here?!” Dustin exclaimed. “Because I can help short stuff. You have no idea how to break into some of these places I bet. Do you know how to load a Beretta 92? How about how many rounds are in a MP5?” Dorian asked.

“Why are you bringing up guns?” Steve questioned.

“Precaution. Plus, you don’t go to a gun party without guns.” Dorian said, “Also if you tell anyone about what you saw yesterday you’re losing that other eye.”. Steve swallowed nervously at the threat, no way was he bringing up what he saw.

“Anway, it is fascinating what twenty bucks will get you at the County Recorder’s office.” Robin explained, the other couple of dollars went to buying Dorian gum. Hey, she was crazy but she was a simple girl at times. “Starcourt Mall.” Robin laid the map out for them to see, “The complete blueprints.”.

“Not bad.” Dustin said, keeping an eye on the goth.

With the other three looking at the map, Robin began pointing out the different sections of the map. Seeing as there was no easy door access, Robin showed that she was one step ahead of them. Just like any old room, the back room of the store had an air vent. An air vent that was connected throughout the mall and led to where they needed to be.

Steve unscrewed the cover, taking the flashlight from Dustin. “You won’t fit in there.” Dorian commented, messing with her nail polish. These idiots didn’t listen, leaving the two girls to watch these morons try to get Dustin through the vent. It was very amusing to watch. Dorian got off the counter, chuckling as Steve attempted to shove Dustin through the vent. While those three were at it, Erica ringing the bell caught Robin’s attention, a smile forming on her face as another idea came to her,

_ Man, this was her week. _

The kids had arrived at the pool, using binoculars to spy on Billy. “I don’t know. He looks pretty normal to me.” Max said. “Normal? How many times have you seen him with a shirt on?” Lucas asked. “Lady screams has a point, do you see how many layers he has for the summer?” Kali remarked, giving an accusing glance to Will, who was wearing a sweater.

_ Jesus, why did they agree to let her come again? _

Mike certainly didn’t like her, but El and Will liked her, so he had to put up with it for now. All that mattered was stopping the Mind Flayer again and finding out where his sister was.

“This is more than weird. He was in a tub of ice. The Mind Flayer likes it cold.” Mike stated, remembering all too well.

“But he’s lounging at the pool, which is, like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever.” Max stated.

Mike grimaced, “That’s not really true. It likes to hide. It only used me when it needed me. It’s like a switch.”.

Great, that made things easier. Kali tsked, messing with her bun, “So we play the waiting game now or what?”.

“We can’t… he could hurt someone else.” Mike said. “Or kill someone.” Will added. “We can’t take that chance. We need to find out if he’s the host.” If he was, then they needed to find Nancy, and fast. The boys headed to the pool, leaving the girls waiting outside, some more annoyed than others.

Mike had a plan, heat is how his mom got it out of him, so that’s how they’d deal with Billy if he was the host. With Lucas and Will, he showed them the sauna. This was their game plan, trap him in and heat it up. No matter what happens, they would have their answers.

Erica stood up on the ladder, peaking through the vent. “Hmm. Yeah, I don’t know.” Erica said, climbing back down.

“You don’t know if you can fit?” Dustin asked.

“Oh, I can fit. I just don’t know if I want to.” Erica said. “Not everyone’s gonna volunteer out of the goodness of their hearts.” Dorian clicked her tongue, blowing her bubble, getting a glare from Dustin. Steve covered his mouth before Dustin could say anything. As much as he despised it, especially since she knew about him and Jonathan… kissing, they needed her help to do this. He just wishes this plan didn’t need Erica and Dorian involved.

“Are you claustrophobic?” Robin questioned.

A laugh left Erica, looking amused at the four, “I don’t have phobias.”. “Oh! I’m starting to like her.” Dorian smirked, getting a small glare from Steve.

Groaning, Steve turned his focus back onto Erica, “Okay, well, what’s the problem?”

“The problem is, I still haven’t heard what’s in this for Erica.”  _ Shit, time for more bribery. _

The five of them sat at one of the booths, Robin and Steve supplying Erica with a bunch of ice cream and some sundaes in hopes that she’d agree. Steve ended up getting sent off to get more fudge for Erica, leaving Robin to explain the plan for her while Dustin was analyzing Dorian. The goth rolled her eyes, making a biting motion at him, smirking as the boy jumped. God, she was going to either adore this or despise it. If it was fun as getting involved with Jonathan last year, it could possibly be the former.

It got even more entertaining when Erica started tearing apart this half baked plan like it was nothing. She made many valid points, bringing up how she could care less about the country's safety. What mattered was the value of her. Capitalism. Ah, sweet money signs that would come to her in the form of ice cream for life.

_ So much for being bored all summer, this was gonna be entertaining. _


	14. The Sauna Test

Following Larry’s instructions, Hopper and Joyce arrived at his house. Which was honestly a wonderful looking place. Following the mayor up to his room, they found the land deeds, something catching Joyce’s attention immediately.

The two of them approached a map of Hawkins, noticing how some of the locations were very close to Jordan Lake. Something else was close to Jordan Lake, the power plant.

“Four nights ago, there was a huge power outage, and the next day-”

“Your magnets fell.” Holy shit, she was right.

“Yeah, I mean, Scott says that this machine would take a massive amount of power to run. So, what if this machine that we’ve been talking about really does exist, and the reason that we didn't find it at the lab is because it isn’t at the lab, it’s at one of these properties.” Joyce explained. Wow, looks like she figured it out. Hopper was really impressed, even mentioning that Joyce should work with her at Hawkins PD.

“And have to look at your face every day? I don’t think so.” She teased, a smile forming on his face.

“Thanks, Barb.” Jonathan softly said, heading into his house with his things, not even looking back to say goodbye. The boy sighed as he made his way into his house, setting the box on the floor. Jonathan sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Mom, I’m home…!”. There was silence, making him frown as he walked deeper into the house, “Mom…? Will?”.

A bark caught his attention, making him look over to not only find Chester, but PB as well. “Are you guys here alone?” Jonathan asked, rubbing his eyes. A soft yap came from PB, the ball of fluff rushing into the kitchen. Taking a shaky breath, Jonathan followed, finding a note on the kitchen counter.

_ Dear Jonathan and Will, _

_ I had to step out for a while and do something. I might be gone for a while. There’s plenty of groceries for you guys, if you need anything, call Karen. I’ll be back soon, I promise. Love, Mom. _

A choked sob left Jonathan, tears running down his eyes as he set the paper down. Chester whined, walking over to his human and rested his head on the boy’s leg. He softly cried, resting his elbows on the table on his head, gripping his hair.

The phone ringing snapped him out of it, making the boy take a shaky breath, getting up from his seat as he approached. Taking a shaky breath, he took a moment to compose himself before grabbing the phone, “Byers residence.”

“Jonathan.” To his surprise, it was Mrs. Wheeler on the line. “Um, hello, Jonathan. Is your mother at home?”

“No, she’s not. I’m sorry. She’s going out for a while.” Jonathan explained.

“Oh.” Karen let out a shaky breath, trying not to cry in front of Holly, “Well, I… have you seen Nancy at all lately? I haven’t seen her in two days, and I'm getting worried. Have you or Barbara seen here?”. After everything her family had endured, it terrified Karen not knowing where her children were.

Shit, he hadn’t heard from her in a while. “I’m sure she’s fine, Mrs. Wheeler. I’ll call Barb. If not, I’m positive Nancy’s fine. She’s tougher than most.”.

A weak smile formed on Karen’s face, a few tears rolling down her cheeks, “I know. Nancy’s a fighter. All of you are.”

It was show time. Will and Lucas snuck into the shed, stealing what they needed. Lucas attempted to apologize to Will, but it didn’t do much. El broke into one of the store rooms with her powers, picking up a CPR dummy curiously. “Hey, I found the breakers.” Mike said, stopping when he saw what El had, “Woah, that thing is super creepy. Let me see it.”. Mike took the dummy from El, hoisting it up, “I think this’ll work. Right, buddy? Right, Mike.”.

Despite his attempts to humor her, El remained indifferent. Without saying a word, she took the dummy from him, ready to leave but he stopped her. His attempts to apologize and explain himself went horribly though. Eleven remarking how they were a different species, and she should spend more time with her species.

_ Shit. _

Kali and Max were waiting outside by her car, taking turns looking through the binoculars. “God, I hope it’s not you. I really hope it’s not you.” Max said, watching as Heather argued with Billy for a while before storming off. They were never the closest, but she still didn’t want it to be him. “And are you ready for what must happen if it is him?” Kali asked, making the girl tremble.

Night had come, and it was game time for the Scoops squad. While Erica got ready, the other four were on the roof. “Commence Operation Child Endangerment.” Erica said, much to Robin’s dismay. “We should hang out like this more often. Breaking into secret Russian hideouts and putting children in danger. This is great.” Dorian exclaimed, a smile forming as Steve and Dustin groaned.

“I already paid her to help. And can we not call it that?” Robin asked. “See you on the other side. Nerds.” Erica said, making her way into the vents.

Knowing the general location of where they had to be, Hopper and Joyce were on the move. Searching through abandoned building after abandoned building, the two eventually got to Hess Farm, that last location.

“All right, nerds. I’m there.”

“Do you- do you see anything?” Robin asked, keeping an eye on the door.

“Yeah, I see those boring boxes you’re so excited about.” Erica responded. “Any guards.” Robin asked. “Negative.” Erica replied.

“Aw, no fun.” Dorian whined, making Steve look at her astonished. What the hell was her definition of fun?! Oh wait, that’s right, go on life crisis adventures and breaking into Russian bases was her version of fun!

After a while, Erica opened the door, stepping outside to most of the group’s relief. “Free ice cream for life.” She reminded them, the four of them getting up to join her.

At the pool, it was quiet minus a few insects chirping. Billy was the only one left, Heather leaving early, not wanting to be with him after the shit he pulled. He was in the middle of a shower, drying off and getting dressed. Just as he had gotten his pants on, a clanging sound caught his attention.

“Pools closed.” Billy said, hearing the noise again, “Hey. Do you hear me? Pool is closed!”. Billy made his way through the men’s locker room, only to find the door locked, trapping him inside. As he hit the door, the lights switched off.

“Billy.” An unfamiliar female voice called out, making him look back. “Who’s there?” Billy asked, going back.

“Billy.” The voice called back in a sing-song tone. Blood trailed down Kali’s nose, the group relieved seeing her powers were working, Billy following after the imaginary voice. The laugh echoed, the woman once again calling for Billy. Billy made his way through the locker room, making sure to check the showers as he continued, “You think this is funny, huh?”.

The laughter continued, “Billy. Come and find me.”. 

“I find you, it is your funeral.” Billy warned, spotting the door to the work out room close. He hurried inside, seeing a figure in the sauna. “Got you.” He said, grinning as he made his way over.

“Come and get me, asshole.” The voice taunted as Billy made his way inside. To Billy’s surprise, he only found the dummy. He picked the dummy up angrily, holding it up. “Hey. Behind you.” Kali smirked, making Billy look back to find her and Eleven at the doorway.

“Hi.” El used her powers to send him flying back into the wall, allowing the other four to run in. Eleven slammed the door shut just as he charged at it, letting Will and Mike chain up the door. Once it was done, they ran behind the two numbers, watching Billy try to break through. Some of them tensed up as he hit the door, the chains violently shaking.

Soon Billy stopped, looking at the group. “Max.” His voice echoed, El looking back at her friend worried.

Max stared forward, before nodding, “Do it.”. Kali hurried forward, turning the heat up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:  
> I am currently on a family trip from the 12th for the 22nd. I will not be able to write anymore for a while. But the good news is I have up to episode 7 written, so if I post every other day I will have enough content to post until I return home. Until then I will take this much needed wellness break. I hope you all understand and are safe in these times.


	15. Strange Green Vials and More

Feeling guilty about what happened, Barb drove to the hospital. Jonathan wanted to be alone and the least she could do was check up on the poor woman. Barb approached the front desk with a bouquet of flowers, really hoping she wasn’t allergic to them at all. “Hello.” Barb said to the receptionist, “I’m here to see Doris Driscoll. I’m… Barbara Driscoll, her granddaughter.”.

She felt about lying, but it was probably the only way she was going to get inside. Thankfully it worked, bearing her name tag, Barb made her way to Mrs. Driscoll’s room. 403. Taking a deep breath, Barb made her way in, frowning seeing Mrs. Driscoll asleep on the bed.

Dorian passed her pocket knife to Steve, the group watching him open up the box. Opening the box up, they were welcomed with the sight of a strange metal box. Giving the others a look, Steve unlocked the box, revealing four vials within the box. 

“That’s definitely not Chinese food.” Steve quipped, setting the lid aside, “Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back.”.

The girls stepped back, but Dustin refused. “Just step back, okay?” Steve said, trying to push Dustin back. “No.” Dustin stated, “No! No! If you die, I die.”.

“And won’t Hawkins be a better place if you shitbirds pass. Just don’t make a mess.” Dorian remarked, folding her arms over her chest, curious on what kind of show they were going to get.

Seeing as there was no other way, Steve went ahead, pulling out the first vial. “What the hell?” He breathed out. “What is that?” Robin asked, stayin back with the other two.

Before anyone could throw out ideas, a strange rumbling noise caught their attention. “Oh shit.” Dorian huffed. “Booby traps.” Erica whispered as the room shook, loud mechanical whirring filling the room. “You know what? Let’s just grab that and go.” Robin snatched the vial from him, Steve hurrying up to tape the box back up while Dustin went to the controls.

“Which one do I press, Erica?” Dustin asked, repeatedly pressing the buttons. Seeing as the buttons weren’t working, it turned into a whole argument between everyone, and it only got worse as a large metal slab came down, blocking off the door. 

As if things couldn’t become more intense, the room shook, dropping down suddenly. Robin and Erica screamed, Dustin and Dorian trying to find something to grab onto as the room dropped faster. Steve looked at the walls, faintly seeing lights coming down, “Oh, shit.”. This wasn’t just a room, they were in a goddamn elevator.

The heart monitor began to beep rapidly, catching Barb’s attention immediately. Her concern grew as the woman’s breathing changed, coughing as the beeping grew more rapid. “Mrs. Driscoll?” Barb asked, looking at the heart monitor rise with wide eyes, the beeping intensifying.

“Max! Let me out of here!” Billy screamed, hitting the glass of the door repeatedly, “Let me out. You kids… you think this is funny?”. Kali instinctively pushed El behind her, glancing back at Will. Mike and Lucas gave each other a nervous look. “You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh? You little shits think this is funny? What is this? Open the door. Open the door!” They all flinched as Billy smacked the door, Kali lowering her pants to her belt cautiously.

She hadn’t told Hopper, but she had kept her gun from before, hiding it under the couch and away from the two.

“Open the door! Open the goddamn door!” Billy screamed, hitting the door again before going to the ground screaming. Mike rushed to the controls, checking the numbers, “We’re at 220!”.

Just as Mike joined the others again, Billy’s sobbing could be heard. Feeling awful, Max approached the door, the others watching concerned, finding her stepbrother sitting on the ground. “It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault, Max. I promise you, it’s not my fault.”

“What’s not your fault, Billy?” Max asked.

“I’ve done things, Max. Really… bad things.” Mike gripped his sister’s necklace as Billy said this, shakin lightly in anger, “I didn’t mean to. He made me do it.”

“Who made you do it?”

“I don’t know, it’s like a shadow.” The group of them looked at each other, knowing what this meant, “Like a giant shadow. Please, Max.”

“What did he make you do?”

“It’s not my fault, okay? Max, please. Please, believe me, Max. It’s not my fault.” Billy pleaded, Max starting to cry, “I tried to stop him, okay? I did. Please believe me, Max. Please believe me.”.

Sniffling softly, Max put her hand on the window, never taking her eyes off of him, “Billy, it’s gonna be okay.”.

“Max, please.” As Billy looked forward, his arm reached down for the broken shards of the wall. “It’s gonna be okay. We want to help you. We want to help you. You just have to talk to us, okay? You have to talk to us. I believe you, Billy.” Max said.

Mike, completely filled with anger hadn’t noticed the familiar sinking feeling, “Where’s my sister?! What did you do to Nancy?!”.

A scream left Max as Billy broke through the window, the wall piece slicing up the right side of her face. “Max!” Lucas shouted, watching her fall to the ground. Eleven gasped in horror, pushing her friends up while Kali pulled out her gun, normally her carrying a gun would worry them, but now wasn’t the time.

“Let me out, you bitch! Let me out! I’ll fucking gut you!” Billy screamed, before grabbing at the pipe and chains on the door.

Kali aimed her gun, ready to take out the threat when Max screamed for her to stop. El sent Kali’s gun flying out her hand, “No! No more killing, Kali!”.

Before Kali could say anything, Billy broke the pipe free. Lucas shot Billy in the face with his slingshot, knocking him down. With this distraction, Will ran over, helping Max over to them, grimacing at the long bloody cut across her face.

Things were only getting started though, the lights above them beginning to flicker. All of them watched the lights flicker rapidly, knowing what this meant. Billy got back up on his feet, black veins forming over his skin as he roared in rage.

Mrs. Driscoll awoke with a scream, terrifying Barb as black veins covered her neck and face. Her heart began to violently pound as the lights above her flickered, oh god, Jonathan was right! Barb hurried to the call nurse button, frantically pressing at it as Doris wailed. Oh god, oh god, what was she supposed to do?!

Billy roared, charging at the door repeatedly, the chains straining. “He’s going to get out.” Kali stated, “You should’ve let me stop it.”. El looked at her disheartened, thinking she had changed… yet here they were again. “No way, he can’t get out.” Lucas stated, all of them watching the door, “No way.”.

After two more charges, Billy broke through the door, the group gasping in horror. El pushed the group back, keeping her arms in front of her friends. Billy stood back up, staring down El. Raising her hand up, El lifted the barbell up with her powers, screaming as she threw it at Billy, sending him flying into the wall. All of them gasped, watching her strain to hold him back. He couldn’t be fighting this, right, right?!

Seeing him try to push it off, El held up both hands, grunting as she kept the barbell pushed against his neck. To their horror Billy pushed the barbell off, sending it at Eleven. Kali rushed forward, pushing her sister aside as the barbell collided with her, knocking both of them down. The hit knocked out Kali, blood running down the woman’s face along with some broken ribs from the hit.

Eleven gasped, looking at her sister, quickly screaming as Billy grabbed her by the hair. “Don’t hurt her!” Will shouted, making Billy turn back to see Will swing a weight at him. Billy caught it, gripping Will’s wrist tightly making the boy drop the weight. Looking at the group, Billy grabbed Will and El by the neck, starting to choke them.

The remaining three stared in horror, watching him stand up, lifting the two up by the neck. “No! No! No!” El pleaded, hitting his arms as tears ran down her cheeks. Will gasped tearfully, struggling, no, no they couldn’t die! Not like this!

“Get away from our friends asshole!” Lucas yelled, him and Mike hitting Billy in the back. Billy fell to the ground grunting, dropping El and Will. “Go to hell, asshole!” Mike shouted, preparing to hit him again when Billy took his weapon from him. Lucas tried hitting him again to protect Mike, but Billy caught him and threw him into the wall. With the rest of them down, Billy advanced on Mike getting ready to attack him.

He couldn’t touch him though, as Billy was suddenly lifted off of his feet. Mike stared in shock, watching Billy scream as he was lifted higher. El strained from her weakness, but kept a hold of him, yelling as she stood up. With one last powerful scream, Eleven threw Billy through the brick wall.

Will and Lucas slowly got up, watching in silence. El slid down weakly, crying as Mike held her, holding her close before helping her up to check on the others. Slowly Kali got up, now awake, with Max’s help. Mike and Eleven joined the others, staring through the hole in the wall, watching Billy run off in the distance.

_ This wasn’t the last time they’d be seeing him. _

“El? Was it her?” Nancy asked. Despite being Flayed, Nancy still held some memory of El, the good memories forgotten from her control. What was worrisome for the others is that she retained memory of the others having powers, that there were others like her.

“Yeah.” Billy replied, “It was her. She knows now. She knows about me.”. Nancy tried to clean up his face, but Billy grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “She could’ve killed me.” Billy said.

“Yes. But not us. None of them can. Not us.” Nancy said, looking over at the army they had built, the Mind Flayer residing in the back, before the army.

_ They couldn’t kill all of them. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yal getting two chapters today because I've been gone so long


	16. Accusations and Suspicion

Steve, Erica, Robin, Dorian, and Dustin all continued to scream as the elevator kept falling. “Shit, shit!” Dustin screamed, messing with the controls.

“We’re going down! We’re going down!” Steve screamed. “Yeah, no shit, Harrington!” Robin shouted, clinging to the shelf behind her as Dorian cackled in excitement.

“Why don’t these buttons work?!” Dustin exclaimed, still trying to make the buttons work. Erica rushed over, moving the boy, “Press the button!”. “What do you think I’m doing?!” Dustin shouted back, the elevator continuing to fall at a terrifying speed. How deep was this place?!

“Come on, press something! Just press the button!” Steve shouted.

Just as he shouted that, the elevator crashed to a stop, all of them falling. A box fell on Steve, making him groan. “My groin.” Steve whined, “It fell on my groin.”. “Charming.” Dorian huffed, climbing off of Robin. “Dustin! Get this off of me!” Steve grunted, Dustin straining to lift the box up, “I can’t move.”.

“And you thought your weak ass could handle fighting an armed guard.” Dorian huffed, shaking out her hair as she looked around for her gun.

“Is everyone okay?” Robin asked, still on the ground.

Steve got up, his emotions all over the place. This is just what he needed! A fight with his girlfriend, going through hell of discovering this place with Dorian and Erica around, and now they were trapped in an elevator! “Yeah, I’m great, now that I know that Russian can’t design elevators!” Steve shouted, pushing Dustin aside to mess with the controls.

“Good to know Nancy fancies the dull ones.” Dorian muttered, looking around the elevator trying to look for a way out.

“I think we’ve clearly established that those buttons don’t work.” Robin interjected, how many times did they need to press it before they realized that?

Steve wasn’t having it, “They’re buttons. They have to do something.”

“Yeah, if we had a keycard.” “A what?” “It’s an electronic lock. Same as the loading dock door. If we don’t have a keycard, it won’t operate, meaning”

“We’re stuck in here.” Dustin groaned.

Dorian turned back around, looking Robin up and down curiously. “You’ve been really good at figuring things out, birdy. But are we sure she isn’t just telling us things we know? I mean the translation, figuring out the code, getting the maps and figuring out how to get in. Even noticing the electronic lock, not a lot of people understand all that stuff. Yet you ticked every single mark.” Dorian noted, walking up to the blonde girl, “If you guys were thinking I was a spy, let me offer up a better probability. It’s just too much of a coincidence, haven’t any of you idiots noticed? I’m starting to think that Miss Buckley here is hiding more than she lets on.”

“Excuse me?” Robin was completely astonished by this accusation.

“Dorian, you can’t be serious. There’s no way Robin’s a soy, she helped us! If she was a soy, why would she be helping us out?” Steve retorted.

A chuckle left the goth, “Easy. Keep her cover, protect her ass, and lead all us nosey dumbasses to her bosses so they can erase us without an issue. Like we never existed.

Noticing things were going to get really messy and being aware Dorian wasn’t the most sane person as well as the only one with a gun, Dustin got the three teens attention by pointing up at the roof. “Hey, what if we climb out.” Dustin said. Thankfully his distraction worked, the five of them climbing out of the elevator. Well… at least they were out of the elevator. Now they just had to get the rest of the way out and not kill each other.

After some driving, Joyce and Hopper arrived at Hess' farm, their last location. It looked different from all the other places, cars and lights on. “Looks like somebody’s home.” Hopper commented, stopping in front of the house.

The two of them made their way inside, Hopper holding his gun and Joyce getting ready to use her powers if needed. While she preferred not to use them, it was probably the safest for them, considering how badly Hopper was injured earlier.

Something was definitely going on here. Lights flickering above them, giving an all to familiar feeling, a strange noise being heard and pulsing noises coming from the ground. Joyce even found a hidden passage underneath the bed. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be the only ones here in a few minutes.

They found two Russian men working inside the basement, but hearing footsteps upstairs, they realized that was the least of their issues at hand. It quickly turned into another fight between Grigori and Hopper, the two men fighting it out, once again struggling. Joyce gasped as he gun flew over to her, looking at the two.

_ Okay Joyce, it’s your time! _

“Hopper!” Joyce shouted, setting Grigori’s jacket on fire to get him away from Hopper. The Russian man patted the fire out like it was nothing to her surprise, so she threw the gun to him, only for it to land by Grigori.

“Oh, shit! Go!” Hopper shouted, getting up to run with her. The two rushed over, Hopper cuffing Alexei to him as they ran. As the three ran, Joyce created a veil of fire behind them to act as a cover, allowing them to run up the stairs. God, she broke all her rules right now, but that didn’t matter! They needed to get the hell out of here!

Hopper threw the keys at Joyce, the woman stopping as she looked at the house. “Joyce, drive!” Hopper shouted, seeing her stand there. Joyce didn’t reply, keeping her focus on the house, starting a small blaze that would quickly spread. If it didn’t kill him, it’d certainly distract him. Panting, she wiped the blood from her nose, hurrying into the car and starting it. Thankfully her plan worked, she could see him coming out of the house as they exited the property.

_ Good lord, what was that man? _

The phone rang through the house, but Jonathan remained in bed, PB and Chester curled up around the teen. Hearing the phone, PB woke up, quickly yapping into the teens ear. Jonathan groaned, rolling on his side trying to cover his ears with the pillows and go back to bed. PB’s barks woke up Chester, the older dog growled as he pulled the blankets off of him. 

“Okay, ok-” Jonathan lifted his head up, realizing it was only five in the mourning, “Oh my god, let me sleep.”. He pulled the pillow over his head, the phone continuing to ring along with the two dogs abusing him.

Giving up, Jonathan got out of bed, heading to his phone, the two dogs following him. “Hello?” He groaned, still tired and emotionally drained.

“Jonathan, I need you to listen to me, please. I’m at the hospital with Mrs. Driscoll. This… this is serious, you were right. I need you to tell me if you know where Will, Mike, Nancy or any of the others are? Are they safe?”

Jonathan’s stomach knotted as she said that, remembering Mrs. Wheeler’s call from last night. His hand trembled as he held onto the phone, his other hand slowly retreating to the side where the scar from the demogorgon was. “What? Why wouldn’t they be safe…? What do you mean I’m right?” Jonathan pleaded.

Barb held back tears, looking back at the hospital, “It’s back.”

Fear creeped through Jonathan, his worst nightmares were real. It was happening all over again, the nightmare never ended.


	17. Emotional Turmoil

The kids had made it back to Mike’s house, it was the closest place for them to all gather and heal. They just needed to make sure that Karen didn’t come down, then they’d be in real trouble… she didn’t need to know about Nancy yet. Not until they ended this nightmare once and for all.

Hiding out here, they all managed to get patched up for their injuries. Max had her wound stitched up by Kali, it was long but it wasn’t too deep thankfully. As for the others, they mainly needed to ice their wounds, like Will’s wrist, El’s neck, and Kali’s side. She had to be careful with walking, she couldn’t exactly go to the hospital for this, especially since she didn’t exactly have an ID yet.

Knowing they would need help, El went into the darkness, searching for Hopper. “I found him.” She said, making the rest of them look up.

“And where is he?” Kali asked, knowing Max wanted to say something. It was best she didn’t talk for a while, so the stitches wouldn’t be interrupted.

“Woods. He’s with… mama.” El said. With her now being both Joyce and Hopper’s child in a sense, she slowly started getting used to calling Joyce her mama. After all, Jonathan and Will were her brothers.

“Mom?” Will asked. “What are they doing?” Lucas questioned.

El took a moment, watching them leave, “Ill..annoy. They’re going to Ill-annoy.”.

“Kids, there’s breakfast if you're hungry!” Karen called out, making sure Holly had her things. Today would be a long day considering Joyce was still gone, leaving her to man the store. At least it wasn’t going to be busy or anything. Her biggest concern was leaving Holly with Mike… she still hadn’t gotten anything back from Nancy and it terrified her, but she had to put a strong face on for her kids. 

“Not now, Mom! Thank you though!” Mike shouted back, before looking back at El as she took off her cover, “Illinois. Illinois, like the state? The state of Illinois?”.It confused El, all she could do was stammer out her poor pronunciation of the word again.

_ Why Illinois? _

Kali wet a rag in the bathroom, starting to clean off her sister’s nose. The woman sighed seeing the look on her sister’s face, shaking her head. “You’re really mad at me? Aren’t you?” Kali asked, turning El towards her.

“You did it again.” El softly said, her voice wavering lightly, “You let anger control you again.”. Anger…

  
  


_ Knowing that Eleven wasn’t going to do it, Kali pulled out her gun, making her sister look at her in horror. “We need to finish this.” Kali whispered, her finger inching towards the trigger, her hand shaking. The man looked up at her, pleading, and Kali went to fire… but found herself unable too. _

“You were going to let the hurting control you.” El said.

Kali sniffled, trying to hold back tears, “He was going to kill you, don’t you understand that, Jane? He could’ve, and he nearly did. I wanted to save us. Save you.”. She reached out for her sister, but El pulled her hand away. “Jane, please. I couldn’t let anyone hurt our family… I can save you.”.

Eleven shook her head, a tear running down her face, “I know… but can you help me save them?”. It felt as if they were back to the day they first met, and it hurt both of them dearly. The younger girl sniffled, leaving the bathroom, leaving behind the distraught woman.

El rejoined the group in the basement, sitting by Max and Lucas. It hurt to see Max like this, but Will said it was shock from what happened. She needed time to heal.

A knock on the door caught their attention, “Not now, Mom!”.

“Mike, open the door.” To their surprise it was Barbara, making Mike open the door, finding Barb and Jonathan, both carrying a scared expression on their face.

“Code red, I repeated, code red. Does anybody copy?” Dustin was trying to reach out for any of the others again, which was easier said than done. Steve eventually climbed out, not wanting to listen to Dorian and Robin argue anymore, so he might as well try to stop Dustin from wasting the radio battery. “Why are you such a cranky pants? Are you mad still that Nancy has been ignoring you for days now and you’re worried today is the one day she’ll come into the store wanting to fix things?” Dustin asked.

Steve scowled, “Don’t even joke about that.”. Okay, maybe Nancy avoiding him after a couple of days was making him angry. He would’ve gladly taken a break from spy stuff to hang out with her if she came back and stopped overreacting. Shit, no, she wasn’t overreacting. Ugh, why was being a boyfriend so complicated?!

While Steve was having his internal crisis above, the ladies were trying to find a way out. The tension was agonizing, it felt like if any of them breathed the wrong way, the two teens would get into another argument about Robin’s loyalty, which Dorian had yet to give up on her theory.

As Robin searched the room, a strange noise caught her attention. The girl leaned against the metal wall, slightly shuddering at the cold sensation against her face, but remained there, hearing the noise coming closer. “Hey, guys. We got company.” Robin warned, climbing up top to warn the other two.

The large metal door slowly slid open, two Russian guards coming in to retrieve the packages. All five of them were on top of the elevator, Dorian peering through the grates to keep an eye on them. After a few minutes, the guards left, giving them only a few seconds to get through the door as it started closing. Steve hopped down first, using the vial to wedge the door open.

“Let’s go.” He said, catching the others bags, quickly tossing them through. Erica was the first one through, Steve helping her in. Dustin was next, rolling through. Dorian slid through behind them, wincing as she got some friction burn on her thigh from the slide. This left the scoops duo, Robin hurryingly crawling through, Steve crawling through just in time as the vile broke.

The vial shattered, the strange green liquid sizzling through the ground. “Jesus Christ.” Steve gasped, all of them standing up now. “Ooh.” Erica said. “Acid? Damn, now I want some. That’d do wonders at the junkyard.” Dorian commented, getting a look from Dustin. See? He was right about her, she was crazy, look who was right now. “You still wanna drink that?” Robin quipped, looking at Erica.

“Holy mother of God.” Dustin looked back, taking the first look at what they had in store for them. This made the rest of them look back, finding a long blue hall waiting for them.

“Well… hope you guys are in good shape.” Steve commented, sighing as he walked ahead, patting Dustin on the chest, “Looking at you roast beef. Let’s go, come on.”. Who knew their biggest enemy was going to be a long hallway in the Russian base?

Barb paced back and forth in the basement, catching the others up on what happened at the hospital. It was a bit of a rough experience. Especially with the unpleasant memories for Mike, Will starting to get worried for his brother emotionally, Barb apologizing for not updating sooner, they were all a bit of a mess at the moment. “I think it was around 9:00PM when she started to freak out. So… if your test was around 9:00 also, then I’m right. It’s happening again, Mrs. Driscoll is possessed just like Billy.”.

An unpleasant silence filled the group, making the two teens look at them. “What is it?” Jonathan asked, not needing his powers to understand how the mood had drastically shifted.

A shaky breath left Mike, the boy standing up as he looked at the two, trying to not let his emotions overwhelm him. “It’s… it’s not just the two of them. It got her.” Barb’s eyes widened as Mike pulled out Nancy’s necklace, her heart ripping in half, “It got Nancy.”.

“No. No, no not Nance. It… it couldn’t have. It can’t be.” She whimpered, Jonathan instinctively pulling her close. The dam broke, Barb beginning to hysterically sob into Jonathan’s shoulder. No, not her best friend. God, anyone but Nancy. Anyone but her…

El frowned softly, but nodded, “There has to be more. I know. Billy… did something to Nancy. She was scared. She was screaming. Bad screams.”.

It sickened Barb, knowing that her best friend’s last moments were spent suffering. Another worrisome factor came into mind, Max looking over to El gasping, “My mom and stepdad.”.

All of them headed outside, Barb giving her car keys to Jonathan knowing there was no way she could drive like this. As much as she wanted to mourn Nancy, now wasn’t the time. The group split up in the two cars, Kali and Jonathan driving. Jonathan, Barb, Lucas, Max, and El were leading in the first car. Leaving Kali with Will and Mike in her car. “Seat belts.” Jonathan said, driving off to Max’s house, following the directions Lucas had.

_ Don’t let them be too late, please. _


	18. The Portal Drill

“I mean, you have to admit, as a feat of engineering alone, this is impressive.” Dustin commented as they continued to walk down the extremely long hallway.

“What are you talking about? It’s a total fire hazard. There’s no stairs, there’s no exit, there’s just an elevator that drops you halfway to hell.” Steve retorted. 

A chuckle parted from Dorian’s black painted lips, “Wow, who knew I’d find a day where I agree with the pirate?”. If anyone called him a fucking pirate one more time, he was going to lose it!

“They’re commies.” Erica stated, “You don’t pay people, they cut corners.”

“To be fair to our Russian comrades, I don’t think this tunnel was designed for walking.” Robin said. It must have been true considering they saw those two Russian guys show up on a car of sorts. “Think about it, they developed the perfect system for transporting that caro.” Robin explained, trying to ignore Dorian’s gaze. She wasn’t giving up her theory, and it felt like everytime Robin said something, it only supported her theory more.

“It all comes into the mall like any old delivery.” Dustin agreed. “And then they load it up onto those trucks and nobody’s the wiser.” Robin said.

Dorian tsked, shaking her head, “You sure are figuring out a lot of this. Is it common sense or knowledge you know?”. Jesus, if this tunnel got any longer it felt like someone was going to get punched, stabbed, or killed, which wasn’t pleasant at all. That, or nearly make Erica sick from being too much of a nerd. Nerds, yeah right, not Steve Harrington.

_ He was clearly the mother of these children making him the queen of nerds. _

As they kept walking, Robin brought up her questions on why would this be in Hawkins. This made Dorian, Steve, and Dustin stop, remembering what had happened over the last two years. “Think it’s really connected?” Dorian whispered. “Maybe. The Russians might know about it.” Dustin grimaced.

“I’m sorry, but are you two starting to conspire against me too?” Robin asked, her and Erica looking back to see the three had stopped.

Just before any of them could say anything, the radio switched on. “Walkie.” Dustin and Steve said in unison, hurrying over as Erica took the radio from her back. It was the code again, the broadcast had to be nearby.

Jonathan pulled up to the Hargrove house, Max instantly getting worried not finding any of their cars there. Using her house key, Max let everyone in, looking around her house nervously. They all could just tell something was wrong the moment they stepped in, the temperature being extremely low. “I feel like a popsicle.” Kali muttered, rubbing her shoulders as she walked in.

Max walked ahead of the group, looking around her house nervously. “Mom? Mom are you here?” She asked, stopping in the living room.

As they wandered a bit, a strange smell caught Kali’s attention, “Do you guys smell that?”. All of them sniffed the air, following it, shocked at what they found in the kitchen. “Oh, God.” Barb gagged, covering her mouth, “Jonathan, it’s chemicals. It’s like Mrs. Driscoll, they’re eating it.”. God, it made her sick thinking that Nancy could be doing this as well.

The others turned to Mike, who looked alarmed. “Hey, I didn’t eat chemicals last year! This- this is something way different. Um, remember what Mr. Clarke said about when you mix chemicals together?” Mike asked. “You create a new substance.” Will and Lucas said in unison. “What if they’re making something?” Mike said.

“In what, themselves?” Kali questioned, “It’s chemicals. It’ll kill you.”.

Barb bit her lip, looking at the chemicals, “Not… if you’re not human..”. Something caught Jonathan’s attention, the boy walking into the dining room, the others following behind him. “Blood.” Barb gasped, spotting the stain on the carpet, making Max increasingly more worried.

Looking around, Barb noticed the carpet that had shifted. She took lead, spotting more blood leading back to the front of the house. Lucas slowly took Max’s hand, frowning knowing how she was starting to panic. “Keep her back, just in case.” Barb said, heading in with the others.

Stepping out onto the porch, Kali picked up some leftover cord, “They tied them up. They took them somewhere.”.

Jonathan and Barb looked at each other wide eyed, “Mrs. Driscoll.”. “Um, when she freaked out she kept saying ‘I have to go back’. It’s happening somewhere else, right? There’s a place. A source.” Jonathan explained.

This quickly made sense to Eleven, “A place he didn’t want me to see.”. When she was spying on Billy, when he had Nancy, he stopped her from seeing where he was.

“If we can find the source, we can stop it. Kill the virus before it spreads more.” Kali said, once again getting a look from El. 

“How do we find it?” Eleven asked. “Mrs. Driscoll. If she wants to go back so badly, why don’t we let her?” Will stated. Holy shit, that could work, that was their plan. All they needed to do now was find her and bring her home.

Still on the run from that Russian psycho, Hopper drove to the one place that he knew they’d get help from.

Murray.

“I thought you said this guy was a journalist.” Joyce said, following Hopper to the front door. “Yeah, he, uh… he was.” Hopper stated. It wasn’t like they had a lot of options who they could be getting help from, especially with that asshole on their tail right now. Beggars couldn’t be choosers! “Was?” Joyce asked as Hopper pressed the buzzer.

“Look at the camera.” Murray said over the speaker, making Hopper look into the buzzer, “The camera, about you to the right.

This was an interesting situation, one that Joyce was quickly wanting to get away from. Hopper insisted that despite his eccentric behavior and crazy theories -that were true most of the times-, that Murray was completely harmless. In fact, he proved that point by stepping out the front door, pointing a shotgun at Alexei, simply saying “Name.”.

“ _ Get that out of my face, you bald American pig. _ ” Alexei said.

Murray smirked, “ _ I may be bald, but you’re the one in handcuffs, Soviet scum _ . Hi, Jim.”. Well, this certainly got much more interesting. 

Still holding his shotgun, Murray left the three inside. He used his devices on Alexei, making sure he wasn’t carrying anything that would kill all of them. Joyce pulled Hopper aside, trying to convince him that this wasn’t going to work. Murray was just far too crazy! It only got more heated when Murrary called their argument a lovers quarrel. If Joyce got any more heated, she’d be setting the whole place on fire with them still inside. Joyce even tore him a new one for a bit, stating about all the hell they had endured just so she could figure out why her magnets were falling off her fridge!

_ Maybe not end a badass speech with that crazy bit next time. _

Things were starting to get a bit risky back at the base, the five sneaking around. It was getting a lot more dangerous with soldiers wandering around, a group this big could get caught easily. Entering another hall, their concerns only grew, finding dozens of Russian soldiers and scientists wandering the area.

All of hid behind a box, Robin occasionally peaking out to see if there was anything useful. “I saw the comms room.” Erica said. “The door was open for a second and I saw a bunch of lights and machines and shit in there.”. “That could be our closest bet to the comms room, but how the hell are we supposed to get in there?” Dorian asked.

Steve sighed, looking back at the group, “All right. We’re gonna move fast, we’re gonna stay low. Okay?”. “Okay.” Robin said, letting Steve pass her to take the lead. Even with his vision being off from having one eye, Steve was determined to keep all of them hidden and safe. And after moving from cover to cover, they finally made it inside.

The five just barely made it through the door in time, taking a second to breath only for it to stop seeing a man at the console. The man went for his gun, and Robin stepped forward, “ _ Tread lightly! Tread lightly! _ ”. Dorian looked over to her again, her hand slowly moving back towards her gun.

“ _ Who are you? _ ” The man asked. “ _ Silver cat… silver cat. _ ” Robin said, gesturing to the kids behind her. She hoped she understood the code correctly. “ _ I don’t understand.”  _ The man replied. 

_ Shit. _

The man reached for his gun, and before Dorian could take out hers, Steve let out a loud yell, charging at the man. This action startled the others, honestly scaring a few, watching Steve tackle the man. The man shoved Steve off, going to hit him which Steve just barely avoided. God, Nancy was right, depth of field was going to get him killed someday!

The two struggled, the man tossing Steve into another console. Before he could grab him again, Steve elbowed the man in the gut, knocking him out with the phone on the console.

“Dude! You did it! You won a fight!” Dustin cheered. Dorian stared at Steve stunned, at an honest loss for words. It was a startlingly difference compared to her seeing him get his ass handed to him by Billy only a couple of months ago. Slowly a smile worked on her face, folding her arms over her chest, “Well, guess you aren’t that boring after all, Harrington.”.

Steve gave a small chuckle, watching Dustin steal the card from the unconscious guard, which did not sit well with Erica. As the two argued, a strange light caught Robin’s attention. It’s haunting yet… chilling lights attracted the girl forward, a faint pulsing noise being heard as she made her way up the stairs. Robin hurried back down the stairs, “Guys, there’s something up there.”

All of them followed Robin up the stairs, quickly sneaking through as they approached the second door, hearing some men talking beyond the door.  Steve, Dorian, Robin, Erica, and Dustin peered through the glass of the door, looking into the blue tinted room, completely enthralled by what they saw.

“Holy shit.” Dustin gaped.

In the room before them, they saw dozens of masked men walking through the room. A large device in the center of the room that was being powered by the vials, releasing a large blue bean into the wall, a tear that they recognized all too well. Dustin, Steve, and Dorian stared forward, knowing what this meant.

_ The Russians were drilling a hole into the Upside Down. _


	19. The Flayed

Knowing they’d need Mrs. Driscoll to find this source, the group headed to the hospital. Considering how much the receptionist focused on gossip, they’d be able to just sneak-

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Excuse me!” The receptionist exclaimed, seeing the group try to pass by. What she didn’t notice though was Kali continuing to walk, the woman using her powers as a veil. Well… at least one person was in now. “Where do you think you’re going?” The receptionist asked.

“Um, we’re going to visit my grandma again. This is my family, extended. We’re all really worried about here.” Barb explained.

The receptionist wasn’t pleased, keeping her steely gaze on the group, “I don’t care who they are. You know the rules. Two visitors at a time.”. Fine, they’d have to make do with that.

Barb decided to let Kali and Jonathan go, planning on staying back with the kids. Though, she left them along for a few minutes, hiding out in the bathroom. She just… she needed time to think about all of this, to think about Nancy… God, she shouldn’t have left her alone. Why didn’t she just go to the pool with her and Holly. 

Silent sobs left the girl, slowly taking out her wallet to slip Nancy’s photo from her wallet. It was a dorky thing the two had done, to keep a picture of their best friend to always have them with them… for when Nancy would move away and Barb would go to college. Tears rolled down Barb’s cheeks, sniffling softly as her tears fell onto her best friend’s picture, damaging the photo. “Nancy… oh god… Nancy.” Barb cried, pulling the photo to her chest.

Casual elevator music played as Kali and Jonathan waited to get to their floor. It was… such an awkward experience. Aside from her previous joys of him being another number, the two didn’t exactly have a lot in common. What they did have in common he never liked talking about, it reminded him too much of the awful past. He just wanted to put it behind him and continue on with his life.

Soon enough Barb returned, waiting with the other kids. Seeing as Mike and Lucas were beating up the vending machine and Lucas was doing his best to comfort Max, Barb sat down beside Will. “Hey.” She softly said.

“Hey.” Will replied, looking at her, “Why didn’t you go?”

Barb sighed, running a hand through her hair, awkwardly tucking a long piece of hair behind her ear. “Just… couldn’t, I want to help, I just…”

“Need a second?” “Yeah, I needed a second away.” “I get it. Nancy was your best friend.”. She silently nodded, messing with her hair. 

Will kept his eyes on her, noticing something, “Your hairs never this long usually.”. She lifted her head up a bit surprised, before nodding, messing with a piece of her hair, “Yeah, Nancy always liked it long. So I promised her I’d grow it out until Senior year. If I lasted that long, we’d get it cut together. She said it was only fair… I just kept telling her that her hair was perfect how it was, but she insisted.”. Will frowned softly, leaning over to hug her, which she slowly returned.

_ God, were all the Byers amazing people with such strong emotions? _

Kali and Jonathan made their way through the hall, the woman searching for the room Barb said she had gone to. Jonathan noted how silent the floor was, his worry slowly spiking when he saw the files scattered on the ground. Kali continued forward, no time to worry about that stuff, worry about the old lady now.

Finally finding the right room, Kali opened the door, only to find it open. “Where is she?” Jonathan asked. “How the hell am I supposed to know?” Kali hissed out, walking over to the bed when suddenly the lights flickered. Terror spiked within Jonathan, knowing exactly what flickering lights meant.

“She’s gone home.” The two turned around, finding Neil at the doorway, blood staining his hands and shirt, “We were hoping you might come back.”. Kali kept Jonathan close, they weren’t the closest of the bunch, but she wasn’t losing any of her siblings.

“Who’s blood is that?” Jonathan asked, cautiously watching Kali go for her gun. Unlike El, he was up for her using it, these things clearly weren’t human, and going off of the fight yesterday, it’d take a lot to take these bastards down. “Stay back, I won’t hesitate!” Kali shouted, keeping her gun pointed at him. Albeit, it was a lot less threatening when Neil was a whole foot taller than her.

Just as he got closer to them, Jonathan picked the knocked over flower vase up and struck the man in the face with it, knocking him down temporarily. “Come on!” Jonathan shouted, running into the hall with Kali, only for them to find Tom of all people waiting for them, “Tom?”. “That hurt, Jonathan.” Tom hissed out, holding the side of his head, the teen horrified as black veins came out the side of his head. 

“Don’t look, just run!” Kali shouted, pulling his arm back as she ran with him. The two hurried down the stairs, Jonathan locking the door behind them as they ran.

Mike sat down beside El, knowing this was his chance to well… extend the olive branch. Thankfully Will caught the clue, going to check out the magazines they had with Barb. At least it’d be fun hearing her groan about all the magazines they had there… like she used to rant about magazines with Nancy.

“Hey.” Mike said, not looking at her. “Hi.” She responded. “Does… you species like M&M’s?” Mike asked, holding up the bag of candy. Well, it was a god way to start things, sharin candy. “I like the new look, by the way. It’s cool.” Mike said. “Thanks.” El smiled, it was a genuine one too.

Kali hurried out the door, Jonthan gasping as there was a dead doctor on the floor. “Don’t look back, just run!” Kali shouted, hearing the door open behind them. Even if she wanted to use her powers, it was too much of a closed space to work on tricking them, it was just a long hall dammit!

The duo kept running, finding dead bodies littering the other parts of the hall. “In here!” Jonathan exclaimed, turning into the construction one. The two hurried into one of the incomplete surgery rooms, Kali hurrying to the phone while Jonathan watched the door. “Fuck, it’s ringing! Pick up already!” Kali exclaimed in anger, looking back towards the door, “Pick up, damnit!”

“Kali!” Jonathan shouted, the lights above them flickering once more. The duo looked over, seeing Tom at the doorway, breaking his way in. “We’re here for you two.” Tom said, they both had gotten in the way repeatedly, they needed to be dealt with.

As Tom advanced on them, Jonathan went for it, swinging at his former boss. Tom pushed his punch away, grabbing the teen by the neck. “Don’t-!” Kali shouted, going for her gun only to be knocked into the wall. Jonathan gasped as Tom kept a tight grip on his neck, the man head butting him before throwing him across the room into the wall.

Jonathan cried out in pain, grunting as he struggled to get up. Tom picked the stool up, tsking softly as he approached Jonathan, “Sorry kid, should’ve quit while you had the chance.”. He struggled to push himself up, Kali looking over with blurry vision, her head still aching from her injury last night. A scream tore through Jonathan as the stool connected with his back, falling flat on his stomach.

“No..!” Kali looked around frantically for her gun, spotting it.

Jonathan’s breathing became labored, struggling to get up as he watched Tom lift the stool back up. Another scream filled the air along with the sound of bones breaking, Jonathan gasping as he curled up, tasting copper in his mouth. He struggled to breath, gasping as his vision began darkening.

_ No, not like this please... _

Just before Tom could attempt to hurt him anymore, Kali fired her gun with a yell, getting him in the back. “You shot me, you shot me you bitch.” Tom growled out, turning towards her. Good, come and try her! Kali ran out of the room, leading Tom away from Jonathan. All she had to do was get him somewhere where she could get a good shot on him. Keeping him on her tail, Kali ran into a room, waiting for him to follow.

Just barely conscious, Jonathan managed to lift up the stool, struggling to use it to lift himself up. Jonathan gasped in pain, straining to lift himself up when the stool was suddenly kicked, making him fall onto the ground. The teen coughed heavily, looking up to find Neil above him. God, with Kali gone he was done for. “Where do you fucking shits think your going?” Neil asked.

Kali hid behind one of the curtains, closing her eyes, using her powers to hide where she was. She had to time this right, deal with this asshole, deal with that other asshole, then bring Jonathan back safely. Surely El would forgive her then, and she could ‘break’ her rules of not letting violence rule for a bit. After all, this was very needed to save their lives.

Lifting Jonathan off the ground, Neil tossed him into the wall. Jonathan fell to the floor grunting, clutching his side as he coughed out blood. “God, you fucking snowflakes are so delicate.” Neil growled out, slamming Jonathan into the stretcher, watching him fall over.

“Where’d you go?” Tom asked, walking around, opening all the curtains as he searched for the woman. Just a little bit closer, just a little closer you piece of shit.

Jonathan, fueled by the little strength he had left, struggled to climb towards the scissors. Neil got there first, kicking the teen in the side then slammed his face into the ground to stop him. There, that’d stop the little shit. Neil picked the scissors up from the ground.

“Where are you?” Tom asked, opening another curtain.

Now atop Jonathan, Neil raised the scissors above his head, ready to end this problem once and for all.

“Right here!” Kali shouted, stepping out of cover to shoot Tom once again in the back, sending him falling back.

Neil yelled in pain, dropping the scissors as he stumbled off of Jonathan, the teen weakly looking up.

Kali didn’t give him a chance, shooting him in the shoulder, watching him fall to the ground. Taking advantage of this, Jonathan took the scissors off the ground, his legs shaking as he stood up, his insides screaming from his injuries. “Eat lead!” Kali shouted, shooting Tom in the head as Jonathan stabbed Neil in the throat at the exact same time.

Both men fell to the ground, relieving them. It was over… Jonathan panted heavily before falling to the ground, gasping heavily in pain. Kali took a deep breath, wiping the blood from her with a smile. Their resolve vanished though as the lights above them flickered.

It wasn’t only happening on their floor though, Mike noticed the flickering lights immediately. He slowly stood up, confusing El until a strange alarm went off, making all of them look up.

Neil and Tom began to groan, their bodies shaking violently. By the looks of it they were starting to melt, melting into disgusting fleshy blobs. “Good god.” Kali gagged, watching it slowly slither away, making a disgusting bubbling noise. Taking a deep breath, Kali followed after it into the hall.

As she did, she saw another blob at the end of the hall moving, her eyes widening in realization. They were going to connect. Just as she suspected, the two blobs met at the center, strange noises coming from them as they morphed together, forming into a large horrifying creature. The floor lights shut off, the emergency lights barely doing anything, fear growing within her as a low growling filled the hall. The lights switched back on, a monstrous shriek leaving the completed beast.


	20. Formation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updates! I got family over and can't write much.

The five continued to watch the drill, the hypnotizing blue light drilling into the wall. “The gate.” Dustin and Steve said in unison. They needed to get out of here. NOW!   
  


“I don’t understand. You’ve seen this before?” Robin asked, the group hurrying down the stairs. “Not exactly.” Dustin replied. “Then what, exactly?” Robin persisted.

“All you need to know is it’s bad.” Dustin said. “It’s really bad.” Steve added. “Idiots are right, this is serious shit.” Dorian muttered, glancing back behind them. If it was any worse then what happened last year, then they were in for a shit ton of trouble.

Robin stopped in front of the three, at a complete loss, her emotions all over, “And you know this how?”

Another argument was about to begin, when Erica piped up, “Um, Steve? Where’s your Russian friend?”. Just as Erica said this, the alarm began going off. “Great, this is just what we needed today after finding out we might die again to other worldly beings! I’m glad I get to die in a fun way other than stupid elevators!” Dorian shouted, her words just dripping with sarcasm.

“Shit.” Steve said, peeking out the door, the other Russians noticing them, “Shit. Shit. Everyone, move!”. They all hurried back up the stairs, entering the command room of the drill. It was less than ideal with all the soldiers behind them, but it was the only way they could go. They hurried onto the platform, getting dangerously close to the drill.

“Holy shit, holy shit!” Dustin screamed, gasping for air.

“We’re running out of room to run!” Dorian exclaimed.

“Guards!” Erica shouted, looking behind them. “This way!” Steve shouted, heading down the stairs. As they ran to the lower levels, they found more guards waiting for them. “Oh shit, oh shit!” Steve shouted, seeing more coming for them, making him knock barrels into them. One of the guards avoided this, attempting to grab Steve only to get rammed in the face with the butt of Dorian’s gun.

“Come on!” Erica shouted, spotting a door. Dorian and Steve were in the back, ready to join the others when a scream caught his attention. He turned around just in time to watch Dorian get knocked to the ground, struggling against one of the guards, her gun clattering to the ground away from her. “Steve!” Dustin exclaimed. Oh shit, oh shit,

Dorian screamed as she struggled to get the armed man off of her, struggling to reach for her fallen gun. The girl yelled as she kicked, as she reached out, a loud bang filling the air. The others flinched looking back, watching blood spread across the metal ground. To their relief, Dorian shoved the man off of her, getting up and chased after them after grabbing her gun once more.

All of them rushed into the room, Steve using his body to block off the door. “Robin! Dorian!” Steve shouted, struggling against the door. “Shit!” Dustin exclaimed, searching for a way out with Erica.

Robin was about to join Steve when she looked over to the goth teen, her eyes widening. Labored breaths left Dorian, the girl’s free hand shaking as she found blood on it. “I didn’t mean it…” Was all she could rasp out, her knees buckling as she fell onto the stairs gasping. Grimacing, Robin hurried over to help Steve, both of them struggling against the door.

“Come on, let’s go!” Erica shouted, lifting the grate up with Dustin. “No! Just go get some help, okay?” Steve shouted back. “Get help and get her out of here!” Robin shouted, making Dustin look over surprised to see Dorian.

Shit, he couldn’t believe he was doing this. “GO!” Robin and Steve shouted. Swearing under his breath, Dustin rushed over, lifting Dorian up. She could walk just barely, swearing as she climbed into the grate after Erica. “I won’t forget you!” “GO!” The two shouted once more, watching Dustin swing the grate shut.

The lights above them continued to flicker, the group all standing back to back as they looked up. Mike stood beside El, softly gasping as a familiar chill embraced him, “He’s here.”.

A loud shriek filled the floor, Kali gasping as she stared at the beast. “You have to be fucking kidding me!” Kali yelled, trying to escape through the door behind her, only to find it blocked off by something, “Damnit, fucking move!”. After some more struggling, Kali managed to get the beast through, running deeper into the hospital. She hoped Jonathan was in a safe place, but she wasn’t turning around to check with that thing on their heels!

Barb and the kids passed the receptionist, ignoring the woman. If it was really here they needed to hurry and find Jonathan and Kali.

Kali panted as she ran through the construction hall, looking back to find the beast rounding the corner. “Dammit, why won’t you let up?!” Kali shouted, trying to hide herself with her powers but none of her tricks worked, the monster only continued after her. Knowing she couldn’t outrun the thing, Kali rushed into one of the rooms, hastily locking the door behind her. The woman took a deep breath, resting her hands on her knees.

That’s when she heard it, a nasty squelching sound that made her look up. Her eyes widened as the creature melted down into a smaller form, fitting it’s way through the bottom of the door. “No, no stay back! Stay back!” Kali frantically screamed, backing up as far as she could, gasping as she hit the wall. 

“Jane! Jane, someone!” Kali cried out, never feeling so helpless in her life. Her powers weren’t working on the monster and her gun was out of bullets, god, she was going to die here! Tears rolled down the woman’s cheeks, gasping as the monster was almost completely inside.

“Jonathan!” Will shouted, finding his brother on the ground very injured. The boy hurried over to his brother’s side, shaking him in a panic, “Jonathan!”. Jonathan awoke with a gasp, heavily coughing as he clutched his side. “Oh my god, what happened to you?” Barb asked, crouching down beside him.

El looked at her brother worried before looking around, “Where’s Kali?”

A whimper left Kali, watching the monster reform. It roared at her, sending the woman flying into the wall with a single hit. Kali gasped, struggling to get up, looking up as the beast menacingly approached her. The monster growled, soon standing above the trembling woman.  She turned her head away as it roared in her face, moving it’s head down.

_ I’m sorry, Mick. I’m sorry I left all of you like that… I’m sorry. _

With one final roar, the monster prepared to tear into the woman when the door flew off the hinges. The monster turned back, shrieking at the girl. “What is that thing?!” Barb gasped, keeping a secure hold of Jonathan as he leaned on her. “Jesus!” Mike exclaimed.

The monster roared, charging at them. Eleven yelled, sending the creature crashing into the wall. With another yell she sent it against the other side of the room then into the roof soon following the floor. With one final yell, she sent it flying through the wall and outside. It took one person away from her, not her brother or sister.

“Come on!” Kali hurried onto her feet, following the children outside. The group got out of the hospital, watching the beast melt down once more before banishing into the sewers. The beast slithered through the sewers, eventually joining it’s home and merging with the others. Nancy and Billy stood before it, watching. “It’s time.” Billy said, watching it shriek.

Hopper drove up to Murray’s place, having returned from his adventure to grab food. Sometimes you just get the munchies while you’re on the road. Heading inside, Hopper gave out the food. “Two whoppers, extra ketchup, large fry, pack of Marlboro Reds, and one extra large slurpee.” Hopper said, taking a seat beside Joyce, “Burger King is nowhere near the 7 Eleven by the way.”

“Never said it was.” Murrary grinned.

Alright, now back to interrogating. They needed to figure out what those generators were powering, something serious was going on. Explanations were going to get very difficult though, seeing as Alexei’s focus was on how terrible the slurpee tasted. Hopper’s anger quickly became the vest of him, tossing Alexei outside with the car keys much to the other twos horror. But as he anticipated, Alexei didn’t drive away, he came right back.

_ Sometimes you just needed to trust the cop. _


	21. Desperation

Dustin, Erica, and Dorian hid in the vents below, successfully avoiding the Russians. While they were hidden, Dustin was explaining to Erica everything they had endured in the past, while doing what he could for Dorian’s injury. It honestly didn’t look that bad at first, just some blood… that was until he rolled up her shirt.

“Urgh, fuck!” Dorian gasped out as he lifted her shirt, some of the blood had already started to stick to her shirt. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” Dustin muttered, looking at the wound. He didn’t know the first thing about gunshot wounds, but that looked bad. “I-I don’t know what to do.” Dustin said, “I need you to help me, okay? I don’t trust you for shit, but I’m not in the mood to watch someone bleed to death in front of me.”

_ Fair point. _

A pained whine left the teen, breathing through gritted teeth as she looked down. “O-okay… it, it didn’t go through, fuck. It’s…” Tears rolled down the teen’s cheek, gasping in pain, “Fuck, it’s still in my stomach.”. 

Crap, if Dustin was starting to get worried about her that was bad. They needed to get the hell out of here. After some tinkering and bickering between the two, they got out of the vent. God, let’s hope those Russians don’t follow her blood trail or that she didn’t bleed out on them. That was the last thing they needed.

Steve groaned as the man hit him again, gasping heavily. Not again… not again. Please, not again.  _ Nothing was stopping Billy, grabbing Steve by the collar and headbutting him onto the floor. “Whoo! Get up!” Billy shouted, making his way over to Steve.  _ Don’t make him go through it again… the boy pleaded, trying to plead with the Russian, gasping as the guard hit him again. Stop it, stop it, stop it please…

_ “This is getting pathetic, Steve. What is this now? Number three? Pathetic. Pathetic just like you Steve Harrington. I can’t believe I ever lowered my standards to you.” _

Nancy’s voice echoed in his head, making Steve whimper, “I’m sorry, Nancy. I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me. Please…”. The two Russians looked at each other confused, not knowing what to think of this. “I’m sorry, Nance. No more, please. No more.” He sobbed, shaking lightly in his spot.

He hadn’t realized until now how much the past two years had traumatized him. Finding Nancy nearly dead when they escaped the lab that night and nearly being beaten to death by Billy. That night haunted him every day, please, don’t make him go through it again.

The other man nodded, Steve whimpering before being struck in the face. With him out, the boy was dragged off into a room where Robin was thrown in soon after. The two of them were put in chairs back to back, being tied together. Robin tried to desperately wake up Steve, growing more angry when the man said they had a doctor. Not dealing with his shit, she spat in the man’s face, making them all stop their laughter.

“You are going to regret that, little bitch.”  _ Dustin, Erica, hurry up please. _

Eleven began to wander through the darkness once again, looking around as it was empty as far as she could see. Everyone else was in the other room, anxiously awaiting answers. In front of El were pictures of torn out pictures of Tom from the newspaper, a photo of Nancy that Mike stole from home, a flyer with Doris on it, and a family picture of the Hargrove’s.

It was a tense situation, it had been what, thirty minutes since El started? None of them liked it, but it was all they had. Will hadn’t had any new visions, no matter how hard he tried. A bunch of them were still hurt from the sauna previously, Jonathan and Kali both got roughed up during the attack at the hospital. 

Barb stayed by Jonathan’s side, keeping a close eye on him as he slept. Jonathan needed to go to a hospital, his ribs were destroyed from being hit with a stool along with potential spine damage, a serious concussion, possible internal bleeding, along with a bunch of other things. With her limited knowledge on first aid, Kali patched him up. It wasn’t the most advanced stuff, but it was helpful enough. If it could take care of bullet wounds, stab wounds, and other things similar, it’d have to do for now.

Kali and Will were taking turns on the phone calling around, seeing who was missing. They needed a general idea of who could be flayed. Seeing she wasn’t needed now, Barb focused on something she could control, keeping an eye on Jonathan and making sure his health didn’t drop. What he needed now was rest before things got serious again. This left Max and Lucas in the kitchen, watching Mike pace.

“It can’t be good for her to be in there for this long.” Mike said, pacing across the cabin. “Mike, dude, you're stressing us all out.” Lucas said, sitting with Max at the kitchen. She hadn’t talked to anyone since the hospital, it was understandable… In an instance, her mom, stepdad, and stepbrother were all gone because of the Mind Flayer. Even if Billy and Neil weren’t here favorite people… she lost everyone.

“What if she gets brain damage or something?” Mike and Lucas started arguing soon after. Lucas did care about El, but right now they needed her help and Max didn’t need more to worry about! She had enough to deal with. But of course, despite them all trying to be peaceful it turned into a whole debate with everyone involved. “Can we not do this right now?” Barb asked.

“Barb, can you stay out of this please! The group is talking!” Mike exclaimed, “Just watch your boyfriend while we worry about El. All of you are treating her carelessly.” “Mike, come on!” Will groaned.

“You’re all treating her like a machine and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they’ve obviously vanished off the face of the earth. We all have shit to deal with, alright? I had to call and lie to my mom that I was hanging out with Nancy because I couldn’t bear watching her lose anyone else, and I can’t either! I’ve already lost my dad and sister! So can we please come up with a new plan because I love her and can’t lose here again.” Mike explained.

Everyone had gone silent at that, staring at Mike. A few seconds later the door opened, everyone looking over to see Eleven come out. “What’s going on?” El asked. “Nothing you need to worry about, Jane.” Kali replied, relieving Mike. Probably one of the only times he liked her so far. “Oh. I found him.” El said.

_ Holy shit, they had their link. _

As Murray translated Alexei’s explanation to Hopper and Joyce got a sickening familiar feeling in their guts. Good god, they were making a gate into the Upside Down. “Jesus Christ.” Hopper gasped. They didn’t close the gate, it wasn’t over. Joyce got up from her seat in a panic, taking the phone, she had to call their kids, NOW.

They needed to stop this key, stop it. Hopper agreed that they needed to find this key. Much to his dismay though, Alexei mentioned where this key was. Just what they needed, an underground Russian lab. 

Sliding open the grate, the kids climbed out. Exactly where they needed to be. “Jackpot.” Dustin said, climbing out of the vent. They hoisted Dorian out, moving her into the small red car as the two of them looked around. Dustin found the keys while Erica found a ‘deadly weapon’. Her words, not his. Even with the weapon and the vehicle, Dustin didn’t have high hopes for this. There were millions of guards with deadlier weapons, Dorian was on route to die any second now, and they had no idea where the two were. 

“The best thing we can do for them is to get out of here and find help.” Dustin stated, climbing into the car with Erica, “Our chance of surviving, and theirs, rises substantially. Just trust me on this, please?”. They were going to have to work together if any of them were going out of here alive.

Robin attempted to call for help, it wouldn’t get any results but it was all that she could do aside from nothing. Eventually her shouting woke up Steve, relieving her. “Are- Are you okay?” She asked.

A shaky breath left Steve, the boy whimpering softly, “My ears are ringing, it’s hard to breathe… it feels like my eyes about to pop out from being beaten out again.”. Robin’s stomach knotted hearing this, the cracking of his voice making her realize. “Oh god…” She softly whispered, the rims of her eyes getting watery. She understood now…

“Just… hold on, okay? We’re going to get out of here, I promise.” Robin said, starting to look around for a way to get them out, not finding anything. There was a moment of silence, and Steve lifted his head up hearing a noise coming from her. “Robin?” He asked.

The noises were a mixture of laughter and crying, Robin’s emotions were a mess at this point, “I’m so sorry. It’s just… I can’t believe… I’m gonna die in a secret Russian base. I’m never gonna see my aunt or uncle again. And it won’t even matter. None of it will ever matter anymore.”.

Before Steve could say anything, the door opened up, looks like this was it… The two of them sat back up, the doctor they mentioned was there, holding a strange device. “Wait, wait! What is that!?” Steve hysterically asked, please, don’t hurt him anymore! No more, please..!

“It will help you talk.” The doctor simply said, injecting Steve with it.


	22. Eye of the Storm

Soon enough all of them were staring at the static again. Kali silently messed with her hands, looking at her sister again. “Maybe Mike’s right.” Kali muttered, getting shushed by Will. Right as she said this, El removed the cover, panting loudly. 

“What’s… what’s he doing now?” Max asked, her voice hoarse from the many tears that she had shed as of late.

Eleven turned back towards the other. As the others began debating what she saw, El began to rehydrate, knowing they might need her again. “So this isn’t normal?” Kali asked, walking around the room. “It is the Fourth of July.” Mike remarked, man his mom was not happy when he made the call that he and Nancy weren’t going to celebrate with her and Holly this year.

“So… he wants us to find him?” Will asked.

“I think that’s worse than looking for him. It’ll know where we are. It’s a trap.” Jonathan whined, rubbing his head, “It’s too dangerous. Even if Eleven could kill them, it won’t stop the Mind Flayer.”.

Kali nodded, folding her arms over her chest, “He’s right. It’ll just put her in unnecessary danger.”.

“What we need to do is find the source. Didn’t El say that’s what Billy didn’t want her to see? Maybe, if we get her to peak in one more time, we can see where it is.” Barb offered, anxiously rubbing her glasses on her shirt.

Speaking of the devil, El walked back into the room, “Billy knows where it is. It’s a trap. I know. We can’t go to Billy, but there might be a way for me to see.”. “Like you found me and your mother.” Kali said, looking at her sister proudly. Eleven gave a small nod, smiling at her sister.

Mike was worried of course, but he soon gave in, he trusted her. Eleven was once again in the darkness, finding Billy just there… sitting on his bed in the distance, waiting for her. Slowly she approached him, standing in front of him. Keeping her eyes on him, El took his hand, “Billy. Can you hear me? I want to see. I want to see what happened.”. Her voice echoed in the darkness and soon enough, he looked right back at her.

Just as she thought she had him, he grabbed her arm roughly, making her gasp. On the outside, Eleven began to panic, worrying the others immediately. “This didn’t happen last time.” Kali commented, growing increasingly worried for her sister. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Will asked, terrified for El.

“Stop! No! No! No!” Eleven screamed, struggling to free her arm from Billy’s grasp, and with one final tug she fell back, seeing all of it. 

Eleven landed back in the water, gasping as the waves beat against her. Looking around, El found herself at the beach, strange noises echoing all around her.

“El, are you okay?” Mike’s voice echoed, “Are you okay?”. “I’m okay.” Eleven softly said, slowly calming down. “What’s going on?” Mike asked. “I’m… on a beach.” She replied.

The others looked at each other, Barb silently gripping Jonathan’s hand as they watched, a silent whimper leaving her as he squeezed back. Max slowly caught on, looking at her friend, “What… what else do you see?” Max asked.

The world around her slowly became more clear, a figure becoming clear not too far from her. “A woman. She’s… pretty. I… I think she’s looking at me.” The woman’s laughter echoed, a smile beaming on her face. “Woo!” The woman cheered, “Yeah!”. El looked back, seeing a boy not much younger than her run past her with a surfboard.

_ Billy…? _

“You did it!” The woman grinned, watching him run over to her. “It’s Billy.” El said.

“It’s California. It’s a memory...” Max softly said, gripping her arms tightly, making Lucas hold her closer.

A faint rumbling caught her attention, making El look away from the beach. The girl panted softly, pushing forward, the red thundering sky being seen in the distance. That had to be it. That had to be the source.

Despite Murray’s annoyance, Hopper decided that they were going to need a lot more help solving this issue. A lot more help, meaning it was time to finally catch up with their good old friend Dr. Owens. Once the call was made, it was time to go. The four of them leaving after Murray frantically grabbed all his maps and blueprints.

_ Showtime. _

After what had felt like hours, the Russians finally left Robin and Steve alone. Alone, relatively unharmed in these stupid chairs. “Honestly, I don’t feel anything.” Steve said, “Do you?”.

“I mean, I… I feel fine. I feel normal.” Normal outside of the emotional outburst she previously had. It was a weird situation. She was just freaked out.

Soon enough the two of them were giggling, all giddy and laughing. Oh lord, what did that doctor give them? Oh! Look, they were here again, maybe they could ask what they gave them, of course if the doctor didn’t use those scary instruments on them again. Like before they started asking questions again, the main guy got annoyed when they said the same exact things.

It only took Steve nearly getting his nails ripped out for Robin to confess about cerebro. That’s all she was going to say until Steve brought up Dustin. Looks like he just made things so much worse for them, but he couldn’t help but laugh, both of them were laughing in fact.

That’s when the alarm started blaring, the Russians looking at each other confused. The rescue mission was working, cause the second that main guy left, Dustin and Erica rushed through the door. Dustin screamed as he charged forward, electrocuting the doctor. Dorian leaned against the door, holding her gun panting.

“Hey! Henderson!” Steve grinned, the smaller boy hurrying over to free the duo, “That’s crazy, I was just talking about you.”. “Get ready to run.” Dustin said, tearing the belts off of them.

The wind picked up around her, a faint chill brushing against El. She was going the right way. A yell caught her attention, making her look up to see a younger Billy and his father. “Hey, Billy! What the hell is wrong with you? What did we talk about, huh? You gotta slide! Wait. Afraid you’re gonna get hurt, is that it?”. Soon enough Billy ran, and El ran after her. These memories had to lead her to the source. As she ran by, she glared at Neil. She was starting to understand why Billy was the way he was and it was fair that he got what he deserved when he became Flayed it seemed.

Chasin through the storm, El found Neil and the woman arguing. Billy tried to defend his mother but failed to. El gasped, covering her mouth when Neil slapped her, the storm around her beginning to intensify.

“I don’t understand. Why not? Please, Mom, don’t do this.” Billy pleaded, holding the phone, “Please come home. No. How long? How long?! I miss you.”. El watched silently, feeling terrible for him when suddenly another memory rushed behind her. “Get back here! Get up! What, are you scared to fight me?” Billy shouted. God, he was becoming just like his dad.

The storm blew around her violently, El struggled to see her memory through her hair but she spotted it. “This is your new sister. Her name’s Maxine.” El didn’t realize how young Max was when the two met, it was strange.

A much more recent memory was heard, El pushing deeper into the storm to see it properly. “Who’s there? I said, who’s there?!” Billy’s screams could be heard. As El pushed on, she saw his car and a building in the distance. That had to be the source, she made it! Shielding her face with her arms, El made it into the eye of the storm, the wind around her dying down. The girl continued forward, spotting Billy’s damaged car. El stopped for a moment, looking up to the red sky above her, lightning filling the entire sky.

“I think I found it. The source.” El said. 

“Where is it? Where are you at?” Barb asked.

“Brimborn...Steelworks.” El explained. Jonathan pushed himself up from his seat, hurrying to the catalogue as fast as he could. Barb hurried over to find it, making him sit and soon she had it, they had the source. “El, El, we found it. Get out of there. Get out.” Mike said.

Eleven closed her eyes, the world around her replaying everything that she had witnessed. Her screams echoing as she watched Billy become the host, Nancy’s fate, the Mind Flayer spreading. She tore off her cover gasping, looking around only to find no one with her. “Mike? Kali? Will?” She gasped, looking around her for any signs of her friends or siblings, “Mike? Will! Will!!”.

Her screams echoed around her, a voice behind her making her turn around. “He can’t hear you.” Billy’s voice was warped with the Mind Flayers, sending a chill through her as she watched him walk in, “You shouldn’t have looked for me. Because now I see you. Now we can all see you.”.

Nancy opened up the door, her and Susan stepped out. They made their way through the fairgrounds, it was time.

“You… let us in.” She opened the portal, she opened up the Upside down… “And now… you are going to have to let us stay.”. El whimpered as Billy continued walking towards her, no. No…!

All of the Flayed were active now, they knew where she was. A switch had turned on, all of them heading for the source. It was time to become one.

“Don’t you see? All this time, we’ve been building. We’ve been building it… for you.” All of the Flayed arrived at the steelworks. Dozens of them were finally returning home. “All that work… all that pain… all of it… for you.”. The Flayed made their way through the building. Eleven sobbed, backed into the counter, no… no, she caused this… this, this was her fault.

“And now it’s time. Time to end it. And we are going to end you. And when you are gone, we are going to end your friends.” “No!” “And then we are going to end… everyone.” “Get away!” Eleven screamed, sending him flying back with her powers, finally freeing herself from there, “NO!”. Everyone was alert now, Mike hurrying to her side, holding her close as she sobbed.

Nancy was the first one down the steps, the others following behind her. The Mind Flayer growled, watching all of them approach. At last, it was time to build. As Nancy approached the Mind Flayer, she began to convulse, choking before collapsing onto the ground in a fleshy pile. The Mind Flayer snarled, the blob slowly moving and attaching to the Mind Flayer. Susan wasn’t far behind her, collapsing to the ground right beside her, all of them making the Mind Flayer stronger as they melted down. Poor Mrs. Driscoll soon joined, all of the Flayed melting down. Soon the Mind Flayer was complete, breaking free as it unleashed a mighty shriek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is nearing


	23. Cabin Fever

Happy cheers filled the air, the Fourth of July festival was a success like always. Karen walked through the fairgrounds with Holly, while she wished that Nancy and Mike were here, at least they were with each other. “Mama! Look!” Holly grinned, pointing at the ferris wheel. Karen smiled at her daughter, holding her hand, “Alright, let’s go on dear.”.

The two of them got in line, a sigh leaving Karen. “Relax Karen, everything’s okay.” She whispered, finally taking a seat with her daughter. Holly and Karen giggled as the ferris wheel went up, giving them the perfect view of the fireworks. “Mommy, look!” Holly cheered.

“I know baby, it’s beautiful.” Karen smiled, kissing her daughter on the forehead. As they watched, Holly noticed something, “Mom, the trees. The trees are moving.”.

Karen looked over, watching the trees rustling, her stomach knotting, “Oh god.”.

“He said he was building something. That it was all for me.” El explained. Shit, shit things were just getting worse and worse… “Building something? Was he talking about the Flayed?” Will asked, sitting beside her sister.

“What else could it be?” Barb remarked, anxiously cleaning the lens of her glasses. It was a nervous habit, which made sense that she was doing it a lot…

Lucas huffed, continuing to pace back and forth. “So, he’s building an army, just like we thought. This army is to stop Eleven.”.

“You shut the gate last year Eleven. And considering how protective he was, I have a feeling that really pissed him off.” Mike explained, shuddering a bit at the memories, “And if the Mind Flayer now knows that she’s the only thing that can stop him. But if she’s out of the way-” “Game over.”

“Not even our powers could stop him.” Kali said, rubbing the tattoo on her wrist silently. Jonathan swore under his breath, messing with his hair, this was insane.

“He also said he was gonna kill all of you.” As if they needed more tension in the room. A whimper left Max, the girl curling up crying. Lucas grimaced, going over to comfort her. “That’s wonderful. Glad I left the life of a murderous gang leader to come and die by monsters.” Kali scoffed, getting a glare from Will and Mike.

A strange noise caught Barb’s attention, slowly getting up and approaching the window, faintly hearing it again. “Do you guys hear that?” Barb asked, gasping as she heard it once more, “Wait. El, when Billy told you this, it was here right? In this room?”. El nodded, the realization starting to sink in for everyone as a distant thud was heard. All of them looked around, hearing the noise, and it sunk in completely when Mike felt the back of his neck.

“He knows we’re here.”

Everyone hurried outside, walking through the woods. The sky lit up brightly with the fireworks going off, the trees lightly swaying when they saw it. The Mind Flayer coming over the hill just down the path that led to the cabin. The creature snarled, swatting away the trees that were blocking it’s path. Everyone stared forth in horror, the monster releasing a screech as it finally saw it’s mark.

Alarms were blaring loudly, Dustin speeding through the hall. “Jesus, slow down!” Steve slurred. Dustin drove as fast as he could, Erica seated beside him leaving the three teens in the back. Let’s just hope Dorian didn’t pass out at any point, those two idiots wouldn’t be any help if she passed out. 

After some expert driving on Dustin’s part and only crashing into a few barrels, they were in the home stretch. “FUCK!” Dorian cried out, falling onto Steve with a whine. “They’re fine.” Dustin said, climbing out with Erica. Unlocking the back, they had to hurry. “Come on. We gotta go, now. Steve, if you can, please help Dorian walk.” Dustin explained, they didn’t need her collapsing on the way there or they were all doomed.

Using the keycard that they had snagged earlier, they rode the elevator back up. The only upside is that it wasn’t as scary as going down. Steve and Robin seemed to be enjoying themselves a little too much though. Trying to find out what happened to these two wasn’t any fun either. “Hey, I’d like to know that there aren’t three people dying on us.” Dustin remarked.

“Boop.” Steve softly said, slapping Dustin’s face lightly. “We all die, my strange little child friend.” Robin stated, messing with her hair, “It’s just a matter of how… and when.”. Not a fun conversation to be having when Dorian was still bleeding out on the floor. With Steve’s car being a no go, their only other option was Dorian’s car. Problem was… Dorian had just passed out.

The five finally got on the elevator, Dorian leaning on Steve and Robin. Russians came through the gate and they had to hurry inside before they got caught.

Knowing they only had a little time to prepare, the group searched the premises for anything they could use. This was going to end in a fight and they had to be ready. Barb found a shotgun in Hopper’s shed, it wasn’t something she was used to but she’d have to deal with it, after all this thing had a hell of a kick to it. Jonathan tore the axe from the stump, it’d have to do. Kali counted her bullets for her handgun, only looking up as Jonathan and Barb got in. The kids were blocking up all the windows and doors with everything that they could.

“Everyone, away from the windows.” Barb said, waving them over when everything was covered. Everyone stood in the center of the room, they all were ready to protect each other. Will swallowed anxiously, watching the lamp squeak as he remembered his visions.

The silence was terrifying, everyone waiting for it to show up when suddenly the plates rattled, the lights beginning to flicker. “It’s close.” Mike whispered.

Rumbling footsteps filled the air, the ground beneath them practically quaking. The tree branches swayed slowly, things inside the house starting to fall and break. “Where’d… where’d it go?” Max asked, the room silent aside from their breathing.

A loud shriek filled the air, everyone gasping as the tendril tore through the wall. The kids backed against the wall, gasping. Jonathan yelled as he rushed forward, swinging the axe down onto the tendril. Ripping the axe out, he swung it down with a yell once more. El gasped, watching her brother in fear.

Jonathan prepared to strike the tendril once more then it shifted positions, lunging forward to send him flying into the wall. The axe was sent flying back, Jonathan struggling to get up from his previous injuries, making him an easy target. 

“GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!” Will shrieked, picking the axe up from the ground and rushed at it, swinging the tendril, chopping it clean off. It shrieked, retreating back through the whole it had come out from. “Holy shit.” Max gasped, watching it go before looking at Will. Will helped his brother off the ground, passing him the axe knowing he could handle it better than him.

The group screamed as another one tore through the wall, El stopped it in its place. A second one came out, and Kali wasted no time unloading her gun into it before it could reach her sister. Barb did the same on the other, El using her powers to finish it off by tearing the head of the tendril off, watching as both of them retreated.

They weren’t given a second to breath as the roof was broken open, another tendril shooting down to attack Eleven. “El!” Max screamed, hurrying over and shoving her friend aside. El grunted as she fell onto the hardwood floor, gasping as she heard her friend scream. Max screamed as it latched around her leg, pulling her up. 

Lucas and Mike hurried over, grabbing onto the girl’s arm. “Hold on!” Lucas shouted, keeping a tight grip on her. Barb and Jonathan hurried over to help, all of them struggling as the monster kept a tight grip on Max. “Help!” Max screamed out as the tendril dug deeper into her leg. “Keep pulling!” Barb shouted.

Before El could push herself up to deal with this, Kali passed her, bearing the shotgun Barb had grabbed previously. With a yell she began unloading the shotgun onto the Mind Flayer, the beast growling in pain. “Will, help!” Lucas shouted. Looking around, Will spotted the axe on the floor, yelling as he struck the tendril with it. “Leave us alone!” He shouted, swinging the axe at it again while Kali continued firing at it. 

With one last swing, Will chopped the tendril off, all the kids falling to the ground panting. “Max, Max are you okay?” Lucas asked, hugging her. The girl whimpered as it was still attached to her leg, letting out a blood curdling scream as Lucas tore it off. The tendril piece growling, before crawling back to it’s completed form.

The Mind Flayer snarled, peering through the ceiling hole. Moving forward, El stood before her friend’s protectively, yelling as she used her powers, tearing the monster in half. The girl panted, woozy from her power use before running out after her friends. 

“Come on, come on!” Barb shouted, all of them runnin out the door. “Everyone out, now!” Kali shouted, the monster roaring as it began to repair itself. “Go, go, go!” Jonathan yelled, hurrying into his car. Everyone followed in after him, Lucas helping Max into Jonathan’s car, the girl crying out in pain. The rest of them piled into Kali’s car.

“Drive, drive!” Mike shouted in the back. Kali slammed her foot onto the gas pedal, speeding ahead with Jonathan driving right behind her. The Mind Flayer let out a feral roar, watching the cars drive off.

The two Russian agents chased after the group. It was a nightmare to run with the two idiots being high and Steve being barely able to walk straight with Dorian leaning on him. “Just trust me, I know where I’m going!” Dustin exclaimed, leading them through the hall and out into the movie theater. This back way had gotten them out of many issues, and it would continue to do so. Checking the way around, Dustin lead the way inside, “All clear.”.

All fibe of the, hurried inside, Dustin finding three seats for them. “You three, sit. Whatever you do, don’t go anywhere and make sure she doesn’t go to sleep by any means.” Dustin stated. “Fine, dad.” Steve said, beginning to poke Dorian’s cheek to prove her listened, making Robin snicker and Dorian groan in annoyance.

_ She was so killing Dustin later for this…that or her ghost would haunt his ass. _

Looking around, Erica and Dustin found another pair of seats, hiding out not too far from the teens. This was their best chance, time to lay low. Dustin eventually left, knowing that walking out of here was not an option.

Hopper sped down the rode, Alexei explaining the plans to Murray as the other man drove. “What’s he saying?” Hopper asked, glancing back.

“He’s showing me the location of the key to turn off the machine.” Murray responded, continuing to look at the diagrams with Alexei, pausing as Alexei interjected, “Sorry, ‘keys’. Two keys.”.

“Two man rule.” Hopper stated, understanding what he meant, “Two men, two keys. It’s like a nuclear launch.”.

Murray nodded, continuing to translate for Alexei, “And to open the vault, you need to enter Planck’s constant. It’s a very famous number.”. “Okay, so we get the keys and then we turn. All right, well, that shouldn’t be too hard. We can do this.” Joyce remarked.

“Joyce, did you hear the part where he said the place is like an impenetrable fortress?” 

“Yeah, but there has to be a way in.”

“Yeah, there is. Our military.”

Great, this was going to get very heated. There was a lot of arguing between the two of them, Hopper making Joyce out like she was crazy and Joyce wanting to get away from him. Murray wanted nothing to do with it, demanding they just admit how they felt.

_ Their reactions were very entertaining though. Probably the most entertaining thing they’ve seen in the past few weeks. _

Both men in the back bursted into laughter much to the other two’s displeasure. God, this was going to be a long and unbearable ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being so late to update, been super busy as of late with family stuff.


	24. Mall Mishaps

The group pulled up to the closest store, the sound of tires screeching to a halt catching their attention. Kali broke through the door, walking in ahead of the others, Max leaning heavily on Lucas and Will. A frown passed over El, worried over her friend.

Barb wandered through the halls, searching for everything they needed. Stealing was giving her serious anxiety, but she pushed it down. They had to take care of everyone, a lot of them were seriously hurt. God, she was really hoping that the hospital would be opened up when this was all over. Jonathan needed one badly and so did some of the kids.

Once she had everything she needed, Barb joined the other kids who had already sat Max down. “How are you feeling?” She asked. 

“It burns like hell.” Max gasped.

“That’s fair, we’re going to take care of it, I promise..” Barb said, she stitched up Jonathan’s side when he got hurt two years ago, this couldn’t be too different… right? 

Kneeling down beside Eleven, Barb got to work, Kali giving her little tidbits of advice. Realistically, she had the most knowledge on extreme injuries, it’d have to do. “Alright, let me see.” Barb said, slowly pulling the bloodied sock down, letting out a startled gasp. “Holy shit.” Lucas gasped, Max whining in pain as she pulled the sock down.

Grimacing, Barb took off her belt knowing they needed to get the bleeding handled, and fast. Kali kept pressure on the wound, allowing Barb to get the soap and water ready. “We need to talk about what that thing was. It was definitely that beast at the hospital that attacked me and Jonathan, but way bigger.” Kali stated, making the others look at her.

“So what, you’re saying everyone fused into that thing?” Will grimaced, swallowing to hold back a gag.

A gasp left Mike, looking at Barb, “Then… Nancy’s in there?”.

“Yes, she’s in there. And that must mean Mrs. Driscoll and Mrs. Hargrove.” Barb’s frown deepened, but she pushed down her emotions to keep treating Max. She had to stay tough for all of these kids, things were already hard enough as is for them. She couldn’t break down on the,. “What matters is… that if we kill that thing, it’ll most likely kill all the flayed.”

_ And everyone we know with it. _

As Barb and Kali took care of Max, Lucas and Will searched around the store for anything else useful. Like maybe snacks for Eleven or drinks, something to help her get her energy back. They were definitely going to need her help against this thing. As the two boys walked around, something caught their eye. 

_ Fireworks.  _

The two boys looked at each other before hurrying over to grab as much as they could. Seeing how they got their asses handed to them earlier, they were definitely gonna need some help from these bad boys.

Seeing as his friends were busy with something else entirely, Mike helped El up, finding some water for her to drink and snacks to bring back some energy. “How are you feeling?” He asked, watching her set down the fifth water bottle.

“Tired. Worried.” She muttered, looking back over the other aisle where the two girls were finishing up treating Max.

“Don’t worry. She’ll have an awesome scar, and I’m sure they’ll take great care of her.” Mike said. “Bitchin’.” El gave a weak smile, remembering her catchphrase around her sister. “Yeah, bitchin’.” Mike nodded, smiling back at her which made the girl chuckle.

Mike paused a moment, knowing it was now or never to talk to her. “El… I’ve been meaning to tell you something. It’s just, being broken up, it’s been hard. Really hard, especially with everything that’s happened…” He thought it couldn’t get any worse in his life until he found out what had happened to his sister. God, Nancy didn’t deserve it. “I like that you and Max are friends now.” He continued, “It’s just, I was jealous and angry. And that’s why I said all that stupid stuff. And it’s like I wanted you all to myself. And now I realized how unfair that is. And selfish. And, like… I’m sorry.”

_ Boy, this was going on longer than he thought. He didn’t think he’d ever get here, but he was finally telling her, in his… weird way. _

His moment was ruined however when the radio came to life, Dustin’s distorted voice being heard. Sliding over, Mike took the radio, “Dustin?’

“Mike?” Dustin gasped, relieved to finally get a response, “Oh my god, you have to listen. I know I’ve been MIA, and I’m sorry, it’s not because I’m mad. I mean, I actually was mad, but it’s also because I was trapped underground in a secret Russian base.”. Man that sounded crazy out loud.

After some back and forth, their line went dead as Dustin’s radio died. The boy ran back down to get Erica hoping she had batteries, when he looked over, seeing the three teens were gone. “Where are they?”

The three teens made it out of the theatre, Steve taking a turn to drown himself in the water fountain while Dorian leaned against Robin. Between the drugged out Robin and bleeding out goth, it was getting hard to tell who looked more dead. While the two bickered about the plot of the movie they just watched and the relevance of the name, Dorian was starting to get drowsy, her head tilting ever so slightly.

Eventually the bickering stopped, Robin leaning Dorian against the wall as she shoved Steve away from the water fountain. Dorian whined in pain, holding her injury gasping. “Guys… really not… feelin’ good here.” The girl whined, sliding down to the ground, “Holy shit, I’m gonna die surrounded by two drugged dumbasses… fucking perfect!”

Her laughter soon morphed into choked tears, the girl gasping to breathe, “I don’t wanna die… not like this. Not when I don’t have shit to show for it or anyone to acknowledge I fucking existed! Why couldn't... Why couldn’t they just… why couldn’t mom and dad acknowledge me… that’s all I wanted.”. Dorian whimpered softly on the floor, tears bubbling down her cheeks.

“Family issues.” Steve murmured, staring to walk around when he looked up at the ceiling, his eye widening. “Wow.” His voice echoed, even with half the world blocked out it was gorgeous. The ceiling was just so beautiful, the light twinkling all around.”Hey, Robin. You gotta check this out.” The girl came over, staring up at the ceiling with him.

“Fucking idiots.” Dorian groaned, failing at her attempts to remain awake.

The two stared at the ceiling, their voice echoing. The world around them spun, making them groan as it all spun way too much, making them both run to the bathroom to puke.

The two teens rushed into the bathroom, which was thankfully empty, and proceeded to vomit into the toilets.

Karen clutched her daughter’s hand, frantically wandering through the crowd to try and make her way to her car. Something was definitely wrong here, and she needed to find out what was going on. Just as she was making her way through the fair grounds, Hopper pulled out. Him and Joyce climbed out of the car, hurrying to search for their children, leaving the other two inside.

The two of them wandered through the park, searching for any sign of their children. However, someone spotted them as they walked around the fairgrounds, the mayor. Instinctively, the man hurried for his car, calling for the one person he knew that could hand this.

Back at the store, El sat in front of the frozen foods, the noise used to help her focus as he tried to figure out where Dustin was. Everyone else sat around her silently, waiting for an answer. Lucas made sure Max kept off her leg, quietly checking every now and then to ensure that his girlfriend was okay. He had been messing up every now and then, but no way he was letting anything else hurt her.

While it was boring to wait this long, El finally had an answer for them. “The movies?” Lucas asked, wheeling the cart of fireworks as the others followed behind him, “Dustin’s so freaked out about the gate, he decides to go watch a movie?”

“Maybe he’s hiding?” Jonathan offered, carrying another box of fireworks.

“In my vision, I saw… us losing someone, not Nancy, one of us. Whatever he has to do to stay safe, he needs to do.” Will grimaced, getting a sympathetic look from Mike. “I’m sorry again that you went through that alone. Really.” He said, adjusting his grip on Max. “We can make it okay by no one dying.” Will remarked.

With everything they needed packed up, the group headed outside to pack up the two cars with as much fireworks as they could. Even if Kali doubted the plan, they needed to try everything, they couldn’t rely solely on the other's powers.

_ That is, unless Joyce showed up. Fire would really help right now. _

As the group left, they didn’t notice how the pile of blood on the floor from Max’s leg began bubbling, forming into a small bloody creature.

Steve flushed the toilet, groaning as he leaned against the stall wall. Robin laid on the ground in the stall beside him, her legs sprawled up against the wall. “The ceiling stopped spinning for me.” She said, “Is it still spinning for you?”

At the mention of this, Steve looked up, “Holy shit, no.”. While that was good, it felt like he had forgotten something very important. The two continued talking, quickly figuring out whether or not the serum was still in their systems. For sure they knew it was still in Robin, but what about Steve? That was left for her to find out.

“Have you ever been in love?” Robin asked.

“Nancy Wheeler. My girl. First semester, senior year.” Steve said. “Oh my god, she’s such a priss.” Robin groaned. “No, Nancy isn’t. She’s… Nancy is brave, she won’t take anyone’s shit, not anymore. She’s loyal as hell to everyone she cares about. And… she’s strong, she’s got a lot on her plate, but she’s strong. When life fell apart, she kept moving, helping her family in every way she could. Yeah, she cried obviously and got emotional, but it never stopped her. Nancy is an amazing fucking person, and I love her. And I should’ve told her the last time I saw her.”.

_ He’d have to say it to her a dozen times and more when he finally sees her after all this, of course before all the crazy Russian bits and him getting beat up again. He didn’t need to worry her more than normal. Lord knows she didn’t need it or deserve any of it. _

A sigh left him, looking over to her, “What about you? Have you ever been in love?”.

There was silence for a moment, concerning him over her. He grimaced, starting to understand, remembering everything she had said to him before. Getting no response, Steve slid under the door to check up on her. Robin let out a heavy sigh, looking at him. “What do you think?” He asked softly, not wanting to hurt her more than he already had.

“You… you don’t know, you wouldn’t want to be my friend if you really knew. Steve, it shocked me to my core, but I like you. I really like you. But I’m not like your other friends.” It hurt hearing that, as he had just boasted so much about Nancy when Robin clearly… loved him in the same way he loved Nancy, “And I’m not like your dream. Do you remember what I said about Clicks class? About me being jealous and, like, obsessed? It isn’t because I had a crush on you. It’s because… she wouldn’t stop staring at you. Tammy Tompson. I wanted her to look at  _ me _ .”

Just as those words left her, it dawned on Steve immediately. “I get it, you like her.” He said, surprising her by how composed he was, “I… I never told anyone this. But Jonathan and I, we kissed at that Halloween party last year. He was drunk and we had girlfriends then, yet… I felt something.”.

A faint smile formed on Robin’s face, sniffling softly as she nodded. It felt so nice to have someone understand how she felt, the last person she expected to find solace in was Steve Harrington. Steve returned the smile, glad she could make her feel better.

The door to the bathroom swung open, making them look over as Dustin and Erica barged in. “Okay. What the hell? And where the hell is Dorian?!” He exclaimed. Oh shit, so that’s what they forgot!


	25. Find the Children

Going through the plans with Alexei, Murray even hatched a plan with him to fake his death and become an American citizen. With everything they’ve done, it’d be great to let him live a normal life and put his past behind him. Goodness knows there were plenty of people in Hawkins just like that. After some talking, the two made their way to the fair, deciding it was time to have some fun.

As Murray gathered their tickets, Alexei began observing the different games, Murray updating him on the rigged system that was carnival games. While he had fun with games, Murray decided it was time to get some food in their bellies.

Not noticing the two, Joyce pulled Hopper over as she spotted Karen and Holly walking around. “Karen! Karen!” Joyce shouted, running over.

Karen looked up startled, her bad feeling only worsening as Joyce came over. “Joyce? Hey, where are the kids?” Karen asked anxiously. This alarmed Joyce, planning on asking her. “What… what do you mean?” Joyce asked, the mother’s sharing the same wave of maternal fear.

_ They needed to find their children, now! _

After finding Dorian and making sure she was still alive, the group snuck out of the bathroom. They needed to bled into the crowd the best they could with two semi drugged teens and another on the verge of death. Going home wasn’t smart though, considering what the truth serum made them say.

“Ugh, we’ll go to my place you morons… none… of you know where it is.” Dorian groaned, slumped against Steve weakly. Okay, they really needed to get her to a hospital, and soon. “Let’s just hope you don’t keel over before we get there.” Erica scoffed.

The escape plan wasn’t gonna work, seeing the Russian guards waiting for them. “Abort! Abort!” Dustin shouted, the four of running back, Steve pulling Dorian onto his back, piggy back style. Damnit, why was she so fucking tall?! They slid down the escalator, frantically running to find somewhere to hide.

“That’s the third green one. And here’s dart number four!” The vendor announced, handing Alexei the fourth dart. A small group had gathered around Alexei, watching his skill in awe. Tossing the dart, he got it, resulting in all of them cheering. With one last toss, Alexei had done it, the crowd cheering as he’s given the big prize.

Brandishing his prize, Alexei his way through the crowd, searching for his friend to show him his victory. Proof to the silly man that not all the games were rigged, it just took the right amount of skill! Searching around, Alexei eventually spotted him at the corn dog stand. “Murray!” He called out, waving at his friend, “Look what I got! It’s not rigged!”

Murray looked over with a smile, laughing like Woody Woodpecker. As Alexei walked over, their happiness vanished as the sign of a familiar assassin came into view. It was already too late by the time they noticed them, the man slowly approaching Alexei with a sliced gun. With a simple hand motion, the assassin shot Alexei, lowering his hand again as if he had done nothing.

The toy fell from Alexei’s arms, blood blooming from his chest much to Murray’s horror. “Alexei!” The man cried out, running over to his friend. Alexei’s vision faded, the world around him swaying just as Murray rushed over, hiding him between two tents. Hastily taking off his shirt, Murray put it over the wound. “Keep pressure on it. I’ll get you help. I’ll get help.” Murray said, getting up to find Joyce and Hopper as fast as he could.

Hurrying through the fair ground, Alexei kept moving until he spotted the two with a woman and a child. “Jim! Jim!” Murray frantically shouted to catch their attention, “They got Alexei! Jim! Alexei! They got Alexei, Jim!”.

A sharp exhale left Hopper, looking over to see him. “What’s happening?” Karen asked, picking her daughter up in her arms instinctively. “We gotta go.” Hopper replied, knowing it was no longer safe for them. Joyce grabbed Karen’s hand, the woman gasping as she pulled her after them.

The three ran through the fair, only to find out it wasn’t just once assassin waiting for them. Hopper led the two through the different tents, trying to lose the assassins, but every way they went there was another waiting for them. “Oh god, what’s happening?” Karen gasped, Holly clinging to her mother terrified. 

“Both of you need to find Murray, get to the car, bring it around back.” Hopper explained, passing the keys off to Joyce.

“Okay. Come on!” Taking Karen’s hand once more, Joyce ran ahead to get her to safety. She knew Jim could handle himself, but there was no way she was letting anything happen to Karen or Holly. Using the maze against the assassin, Hopper hurried through, taking advantage of the environment.

The two women found Murray, who led them to Alexei, but to their horror their friend was already gone. “Oh god.” Karen gasped, keeping Holly turned away. The two mourned for him, horrified at how suddenly they had lost him. But as awful as it was, there was no time to mourn. They needed to get out of here alive and find their children.

While Hopper took care of the first assassin, the others were coming on his position. Namely the big guy that had been after them this entire time.

The three adults headed out of the fair, Karen hurrying away only to get Holly’s booster seat. As they walked out, Joyce recognized someone, Larry. Stopping in her tracks a moment, the woman turned around, socking the mayor in the face before kicking him in the family jewels. “Goodness Joyce, I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to to make you do that!” Karen remarked, “Of course after we save our kids.”.

Continuing through the maze, Grigori made his way through the mirror maze in search of Hopper. Hoper used the terrain to his advantage, unloading the silenced gun onto him repeatedly before running. Unfortunately, the bastard was wearing a bulletproof vest. There was no time to back and finish him off, he needed to get out of there! Making his way down the stairs, Hopper climbed into the car sitting by Karen, looking back to see if they were being followed still.

As Joyce drove, the radio came to life. Hopper took it out, making them realize he had looted the assassin he had beaten, “Hey, translate.”

“ _ We’ve found the children. They are still in the mall, Lower level. Keep all entrances locked down. _ ” The assassins continued searching for the five, all of them hiding in one of the food court stores. An accidental squeak was heard, all of them breathing as quietly as they could as all the assassins surrounded the store.

Lifting their guns up, they moved forward, when suddenly a car alarm went off, startling all of them. The four assassins turned, finding the display cars headlights flashing as it beeped loudly, shaking lightly. “ _ What the hell _ ?” The Russian assassin asked. The car shook more, making them look up onto the second level, finding El holding her hand up, the others behind her. Reeling her hand back, she pushed forward, sending the car tumbling into all of the men.

Slowly the five came out of cover, staring at the carnage that had just occurred. Looking over, they saw everyone come towards the railing. Dustin gave a relieved smile seeing his friends got his message. Barb frowned slightly seeing Steve, giving Mike a small look. Jonathan looked concerned seeing the terrible shape Dorian was in, worried over his kind of friend.

They all hurried towards the center to meet up, a laugh leaving Dustin as they came down the escalator. “You flung that thing like a Hot Wheel!” He cheered, so happy to see them after everything. He rushed over, embracing Mike and El in a hug.

“Lucas?” Erica exclaimed, stopping when she saw Lucas, who was helping Will walk Max over. “What are you doing here?” Lucas asked. “Ask them. It’s their fault.” Erica stated, jabbing an accusing finger to the two scoopers.

“What happened to her?” Jonathan asked, looking at Dorian who had worsened drastically. “Shot by a Russian. I don’t understand what happened to that car.” Robin said.

_ Oh god, they had a lot of catching up to do on all sides. _

“Wait, Robin? Aren’t you in my band class?” Barb asked, raising a brow. “Yes, she’s Robin the band girl. Where’s Nancy, she’s always with you.” Steve questioned.

“Robin cracked the top secret code. That’s how we found out about the Russians.” Dustin stated.

“R-Russians..? There’s Russians now?” Jonathan asked, this was way too much to process and in his condition, he definitely couldn't help organize it all with his powers. “What’s a Russian?” El asked, struggling a bit with the pronunciation. “I’m glad I tagged along for this insanity.” Kali murmured.

The group continued to bicker on and on about the Russians, code reds, Steve just trying to figure out where the hell his girlfriend has been the past few days, and batteries. While this was happening, Max stepped away from the group for a bit, the noise around her slowly becoming too loud. Weakly groaning, she tried to make it stop by covering her ears, but it did nothing in her case. Whimpering, Max fell to the ground, everyone running over.

“What’s wrong with her?” Barb questioned with worry. “Max, Max.” El said, going to her friend's side, “Hurt?”.

Tears bubbled down Max’s face, all of it becoming too much. “It’s my leg.” She whimpered. Barb quickly undid the bloodies bandages on the girls leg, all of them gasping in disgust at the sigh of her wound moving. But it only got worse as it suddenly moved quickly, a feral cry of agony leaving Max.


	26. Together Again

Max let an agonizing cry out of pain as the thing in her leg continued to shift much to her friends horror. “What is that?” Robin gagged.

“What do we do?!” Lucas exclaimed, terrified for his girlfriend.

Noticing how bad things were getting, an idea quickly formed in Barbara’s head. “I know what to do.” She said, springing up to her feet as she rushed towards the fast food joints. She could do this, she knew what to do, she knew first-aid. Searching through all the drawers, Barb grabbed a wooden spoon, a knife, and some gloves. “Please work.” Barb pleaded, starting to heat up the knife.

“You know, it’s not actually that bad. There was a… The goalie on my soccer team, Beth Wildfire, this other girl slid into her leg, and the bone came out of her knee, six inches or something, it was insane.” Robin explained.

“How is that helping us now?!” Kali snapped out, trying to calm her sister who was terrified for her friend. “No, it’s okay, we all go… bloody bits.” Dorian lucidly remarked, weakly sitting against Steve.

Barb’s feet pounded against the ground as she returned, the girl shaking lightly in fear. She had to do this, it didn’t mean she wanted to do it though, “Max, Max look at me. I’m so sorry, but this is really going to hurt. Stay still, please. I need you to stay still for me. Bite down on the spoon for me.”.

“Jesus Christ, you're really doing this?” Dustin asked, Lucas bringing the spoon over for Max to bite down one.

Taking a shaky breath, Barb held up the knife and began cutting into the wound. Everyone gagged, looking away as the knife sliced open the wound, blood oozing from the hole. “I’m gonna be sick.” Jonathan groaned, his brother rubbing his back. “Oh my-” Mike gagged, hiding El’s face in his shoulder.

With the injury open, Barb dreaded the next part, sliding her fingers into the wound. Max screamed in anguish through the spoon, pleading as Barb kept going. “No, stop!” El shouted, freeing herself from Mike. The redhead flinched but stopped, El pushed Mike aside to look at her best friend. “I’ll help you, just hold on.” She said, hoping she had enough power left to take this thing out.

Eleven raised her hand, straining to get the thing out of Max’s leg, both of the girls screaming as the others watched helplessly. After a painful tug the beast was free, Max curling up into Lucas’ arms sobbing. El scowled at the small creature, yelling as she threw it across the mall floor. To their horror though, it began crawling away.

The creature did not get far, a foot crushing it into the tile, all of them looking to find Joyce, Hopper, Murray, Karen, and Holly standing before them.

With everyone together at last, they once again began updating everyone on what had happened. “It only gets worse, that’s only a piece of that thing and you saw the damage it did.” Kali stated, gesturing to the bloody puddle and weeping Max. 

Steve anxiously paced back and forth, making Jonathan’s stomach knot. He glanced at Barb, who nodded slowly, the two of them getting off of the fountain, approaching Steve. “Steve?” Steve looked over, seeing the two come over, a sense of dread washing over him. “Where’s Nancy?” He said, no beating around the bush, where was she?

The two looked at each other, Barb frowning as she pulled something from his pocket making Steve’s breath hitch. Nancy’s necklace…? She’d… she hadn’t taken it off since her dad died, she never took it off. “W-Where is she? Where the fuck is she?” He pleaded, hoping for something, that this was a prank or something! There was no such luck though. Sniffling, Steve stomped off, his emotions fluctuating.

A scream tore through him as he kicked over a table, yelling as he threw the food court chair around. Tears dribbled down his cheeks, snot running down his nose as he incoherently screamed, begging for her to somehow be alive as he took out his rage on the furniture. Why wasn’t he there for her?! Why wasn’t he with her?!

The others watched the outburst, Robin grimacing, “Give him a minute…”

Silently everyone nodded, allowing him his moment as they continued to discuss the Mind Flayer and what else was happening. “I can’t believe this, are you sure this thing is even alive?” Joyce asked. “We all know the Upside Down is stubborn… nothing dies there.” Karen solemnly replied, one arm wrapped around Mike and the other around Holly, too scared that if she let them go she’d lose them too.

“But what if El cuts the brain off again, like she did last time? Close the gate and what not.” Kali suggested.

“That theoretically would kill it.” Lucas said.

That’s when Murray came into play, shouting for his attention as he waved papers in their directions. The man hurried over, laying out the maps that Alexei had made for him. They needed to find a way to the gate, and the map was good, but Erica knew the way there. “I’d listen to Erica, which I can’t believe I’m saying, but listen to her. Or else you’ll get shot or worse.” Dustin gestured towards Dorian.

The goth weakly flicked him off, whining as Kali did her best to treat her injuries. It’d do for now, but she needed to be in the hospital hours ago for this injury.

Dustin sat down, editing the map to explain where they needed to go. Hopper wasn’t thrilled about letting them come, so he flat out denied it. Great, thanks for ruining his moment.

Once the plan was laid out, everyone spread out, Hopper went straight to looting all the Russians for their weapons. They were sure as hell going to need it. Robin made her way over to Steve, checking up on him to make sure he was okay, or at least as okay as he could be. Barb was with Karen, holding Holly as she talked to the woman. Laying out two tables, Jonathan and Kali were attempting to get Dorian stable until they could leave.

Eventually giving in, Hopper tossed a walkie talkie to Dustin, “Hey, heads up. You can navigate, just from someplace safe.”. Lucky enough for them, they had Cerebro. Only problem was, they didn’t have a way to get there, they needed a car. Hopper nodded, preparing to pass the keys towards Robin when Steve took them. “I’ll drive.”

“Kid, you got one eye that barely works now and you're an emotional disaster, you aren’t driving.” Hopper said. “I’m driving, I can do this.” Steve promised, “Let me do this.”.

A sigh left Hopper, the man nodding allowing them to go. Steve, Robin, Erica, Dustin, Dorian, and Holly headed towards the car, Steve shocked by how good the car looked. They had to be fast, with getting to the radio fast enough and saving Dorian’s life,there wasn’t any time that they could waste.

While Murray spoke with Kali and Barb, Joyce pulled aside her two sons. “Listen to me, both of you. I need to end this, but I will be back before you know it, okay?” She said.

“Mom.” Will pleaded, Jonathan rubbing his back.

“I’m sorry, I really am but I need to do this. We’ve been running from our pasts for too long, it’s time to end this. I know the two of you will keep each other safe.” Joyce said, rubbing Will’s cheek.

Jonathan intervened, looking at their mother, “We aren’t worried about ourselves, we’re worried for you mom.”.

“Oh sweetheart… you should worry about yourself, you could’ve died.” Joyce frowned, rubbing his cheek, “I’m gonna be fine.”. Sniffling, Joyce pulled them both into a hug, slowly both of them joined. “I’m gonna be fine. We’re gonna be fine.” She said, rubbing their backs.

“How are you feeling? Did a lot to help your friends and fight that thing.” Hopper said.

“Tired, but I’ll get better. I can fight.” “Better than any of us. But right now I need you safe. This thing is after you and your siblings. It’s not after me. Do you understand?” Seeing she wasn’t looking at him, Hopper slowly pushed her hair aside so she would look at him, “Hey. I need you to understand. Okay?”

El gave a silent nod, the two looking over hearing Will. “Come on guys, it’s time to go.” Will said. Hopper sighed, and before he could react, El sprung up and wrapped her arms around him.

“Be safe, I can’t lose you too mom.” Mike sniffled, his emotions coming through as he clung to his mother tightly. “I will go through hell and back to get back to you and Holly, I swear it.” Karen whispered, rubbing her tears into her son's shoulder, “I know you’ll be safe, away from here.”. Kissing his forehead, Karen let her son go, sniffling as he left with the others.

“Ready?” Joyce asked, walking over, all of their eyes were red and close to tears. Looks like they all had a good parenting moment, now it was time to teach these Russian assholes a lesson.

The group made it outside, Kali making her way to start the car as the kids loaded in. Much to their dismay, the car wasn’t starting, the engine sputtering uselessly. “Why isn’t it working? I thought this car worked, Barb!” Kali shouted. “It does, I don’t know what’s wrong.” Barb huffed.

“Pop the hood.” Jonathan grunted, climbing out of the car much to his brother’s dismay. Kali popped the hood, Jonathan finding the immediate problem. That wasn’t the worst of it though, seeing headlights in the parking lot. “Oh shit…” Max weakly gasped.

_ Shit, not this too please. Could this get any fucking worse for her?! _

All of them stared at the car in fear, listening to him rev his engine intimidatingly. “Everyone back inside now!” Jonathan shouted, everyone scrambling out. “Be careful with her!” Lucas shouted, him and Mike hurrying to get Max out, while El leaned on her brother.

The elevator thudded to a stop, the four adults looking over as the doors opened and guards were there waiting for them. Murray tried to play it off, but Joyce didn’t have time for this, hastily setting the guards’ uniform sleeves on fire. In their panic, Hopper took advantage by opening fire on the guards, all of them dropping. “Oh my god…” Karen whimpered, looking up slowly. Hopper didn’t care, knowing they were gonna have to improvise now.


	27. Improvising

“How far is this place…? Swear… gonna die before we get there.” Dorian groaned. “Well realistically you should’ve died hours ago, so relax. We’re almost there.” Dustin explained.

_ Totally comforting, you little shit. _

As much as Dustin wanted to boast about Suzie, he knew it wasn’t good. Steve was driving them… and with them knowing Nancy was dead because of the Mind Flayer, now would not be a good time to talk about it. After some terrifying driving choices, they finally made it to the top, hearing Mike’s voice on the radio.

“Scoops Troop, do you copy? Scoops Troop, I repeat, do you copy? We’re trapped in the mall and in need of emergency transportation.” He just hoped they had enough room to get everyone out of here, “Scoops Tropp, do you copy? Billy has found us.”

While Mike tried to make contact, everyone else checked their weapons in case they needed to get into a fight. Max hesitantly looked over to Kali, noticing the gun in her hand, “You’re planning to kill him… aren’t you?”. The woman looked over but said nothing, dread filling the girl.

“Hey, it’s for all of us, not just Billy. The Mind Flayer will be here too.” Barb explained, holding her gun. Max trusted her more though.

Jonathan stood by the car with his brother, looking it over. “Think it’ll drive?” Will asked, giving his brother an idea. “We don’t need it to drive.” Jonathan said, “We just need the ignition cable.”.

All of them grunted, straining to push the car, which proved useless. “Let me try.” No one was thrilled with the idea, but they didn’t have many options, “I can do it.”. All of them stepped aside, standing behind her as El raised her hand. The girl panted, straining to pull the car down with a yell, dropping to her knees weakly making Will and Kali run to her side.

After chatting up with the guard, the four adults finally made it to the vent. “I hate children.” Murray muttered, climbing into the vent. Hopper closed it up behind him, and now it was just the waiting game.

“El, you need to be careful. You’re using your powers a lot, I’m worried it might hurt you.” Will stated, wiping the blood off his sister’s nose. “She’s strong, Jane can handle it.” Kali remarked, much to his annoyance. “We all say we can handle it until we over do it.” Will said, silently remembering how deathly his brother looked after overusing his powers.

“I’m okay, I can still fight.” El whispered, a bit tired.

“No, I’m tired of hearing that. I’m tired of everyone fighting til they die. Please, Eleven, listen to me. As your brother, please, PLEASE, take a break… I can’t lose you.” Will pleaded, his voice wavering slightly. There was a silence before El slowly nodded, sniffling as she hugged her brother. Kali watched silently, her frown deepening as drifted into thought.

Now that El had the car flipped over, Jonathan searched for the piece they needed. A strange chill made its way down Mike’s neck, the boy instinctively putting a hand over much to his horror. Max knew what that meant immediately, slowly looked up as a distant rumbling could be heard. Pounding footsteps echoed through the mall, the ceiling above the violently shaking with each step. “Mike…” The girl gasped in fear. Mike looked up, the sound of glass clinking above them sending chills through them both,

“Got it.” Jonathan grunted, him and Barb taking out the ignition cable. “Barb!” Mike shouted, making the teen look over, the shout catching everyone’s attention. All of them looked up as the roof shook, snarling coming from above. Mike helped Max up to her feet, rushing to hide. Kali grabbed her sister’s hand, the two rushing over to hide with them.

Cracks formed throughout the skylight, and with one final step the ceiling came crashing down, the Mind Flayer snarling as it landed in the center of the mall, releasing a mighty roar.

Things below were only getting worse, the Russian assassin following the trail they had left. The dead guards at the door only made him more sure that they were here.

“I hate this, they shouldn’t have to go through this again…” Karen muttered, running a hand through her hair, “Our kids… our kids deserve better.”. Joyce frowned, rubbing her friends back, “They do, your kids especially. But they’re safe, I promise you. They are all safe. That thing won’t find them, not before we kill it.”. If the portal didn’t work, her fire would certainly singe the damned beast.

“At least the three of us… make a weird and good team. Wish you had invited me to the Russian shit show before though.” Karen let out a dry laugh… maybe if she knew sooner, she’d somehow… somehow be able to save her daughter, save Nancy from the horrors she went through… but no, no her baby girl was gone from the world. Suffering in the most horrible way while she had no clue. 

Joyce pulled her friend into a hug sighing, “Karen, you had so much else to worry about… the job, your kids… moving.”

Karen looked up at the mention with a frown, after everything… she was certain she wanted to leave this town for good. It brought nothing but pain to their family. “I get it, but if we make it through this. I say… we deserve to celebrate, everything that we’ve been through, right? Honor those we lost and take a piss on those Upside Down bastards that tried to hurt us.”.

While she wasn’t a fan of the light mood, it certainly helped. Though she could tell right away that it was an idea for Hopper and Joyce to go on a date… she didn’t mind, the two deserved a chance to celebrate. She didn’t want to damper their mood. The three of them sat silently on the steps, waiting for further news.

Murray made his way through the vent, hating how he had to get information from a bunch of little shit kids that were thriving too much on being in charge.

While Steve was confused by Dustin’s mention of My Little Pony, which excited Holly, Robin spotted something in the distance. “Hey guys… is that normal?” She asked, making the four, five but Dorian was of no help, come over to see the lights rapidly flickering at the mall.

Dustin rushed over to the radio, desperately trying to reach the others. Much to their horror a loud roar filled the air. 

The radio was barely giving a signal but none of them dared to come out, all of them hiding from the beast. Will, Jonathan, Barb, and Lucas hid behind the care, holding their breath not daring to make a single sound. Barb clung to Jonathan’s hand, a stray tear running down her cheek as terror ripped through her.

Max, Mike, Jane, and Eleven were hidden behind a desk, all of them breathing quietly as the Mind Flayer sculked by. The beast snarled, mere inches away from them as it roared.

Getting no response, Steve ran down the hill much to the group's horror. “Steve, now is not the time for suicide missions!” Dustin pleaded, swearing as Robin chased after him, he groaned tossing a radio to her. Holly whimpered, making Erica groan as she tried to calm the girl by talking about dolls or something.

“We have a problem.”. Hopper instantly picked up the radio, the two moms looking at him in worry, “What kind of problem?”.

The Mind Flayer hissed as it made its way around the mall, searching for the children and teens. Kali looked over to the three with her, taking in their injuries. They were trapped.. Even with it turned around they wouldn’t make it, not with Max’s leg and how injured Jane was… unless…

Kali looked at her sister, a weak smile forming on her face. “Jane, I am so, so proud of you. You were everything I wasn’t.... You’re a fighter, and a lover. You taught me that love is more powerful than my rage.” Kali said softly.

“What…? What are-?” Eleven was silenced as Kali pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around her sister tightly. “I love you…” Kali whispered, kissing her sister’s forehead before standing. Eleven’s eyes widened realizing what she was going to, trying to scream out to stop her but stopped as a rainbow butterfly flew in front of her, a choked whimper leaving her as it flew into her palm.

From the car, Jonathan and Will saw the same butterfly before them, the two softly gasping, hearing a soft “Thank you” echo from it.

Kali rushed out of cover, using her powers to get to a safe spot away from the others, her heart hammering as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Love is more powerful…” She whispered, looking at the beast before releasing the loudest scream she could give. Eleven sobbed hearing this, Mike holding her close to prevent her from watching. Kali continued screaming, watching as the monster turned towards her.

“Now.” Mike whispered, helping Max up and the three rushed towards the Gap. The Mind Flayer looked at her, snarling at the screaming woman. Kali glared at it, screaming one last time, being silenced as a tendril shot from the Mind Flayer’s mouth, tearing through her chest. An inaudible scream tore through Eleven, the girl whimpering as Mike had to pull her inside the store so the two could escape.

The tendril wretched itself from Kali’s body, the woman falling on her back, blood pooling around her as a faint smile formed on her face, blood running down her nose as in the darkness she remembered the happiness Jane had given her…

_ Thank you... _


	28. Planck's Constant

Murray grunted as he climbed out of the vent, “Bald Eagle has landed. Repeat. Bald Eagle has landed.”.

Things were finally starting to go as planned, Murray using his maps to find what they needed.

Jonathan slowly peaked out of cover, shuddering seeing Kali’s body, however her distraction worked, they could all get out. “Go, go!” He whispered, helping his brother up first before following him. THe four rushed through the food court, using the back entrance to escape back outside.

Alarms blared through the facility, Hopper and Joyce rushing to find the keys. The key was in a vault, but they had the code. However, when Hopper put it in, it didn’t work. “Try again, that has to be the code. Right?” Karen asked, no, it couldn’t be wrong! They were so close!

Luckily for them, Dustin knew someone who knew what Planck’s Constant by heart. Suzie. Dustin began to quickly fiddle with the settings, confusing Suzie.

The group rushed out of the mall, finding Billy waiting for them. “Jonathan, fix the car, I’ll hold him off.” Barb said, walking forward with her gun. Honestly, she was scared shitless, but there was no way in hell she was letting anything else hurt these kids. Jonathan put the cable in, hurrying to the passenger seat to start the car, praying it would work.

Billy stomped his foot on the gas, plowing forward as Barb began firing at him. “Come on, we gotta go!” Lucas shouted. All of them screamed as Billy was about to hit them, but before he could Steve crashed into him. Jonathan looked up gasping, staring at Steve wide eyed.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked. “Ask me tomorrow.” Robin meekly replied.

A snarling noise filled the air, the two of them looking up to find the Mind Flayer once again on the roof. “Holy shit.” Robin gasped. The Mind Flayer let out a roar, Steve shaking seeing it… God, Nancy was a part of that now… she, she…

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Jonathan drove up, honking the horn. “Get in!” Barb shouted, the two rushing over. “Jonathan, floor it please!” Will shouted as the beast followed after them. “Can you even drive like this?!” Lucas exclaimed.

Meanwhile, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Suzie sat by her bed reading, looking up when she finally heard a familiar voice. “Suzie?” Dustin asked, “Suzie, do you copy?”. 

Setting her book down, Suzie made her way to her radio. “This is Suzie. I copy.” She responded.

“Suzie!”

“Dusty-bun?”

Erica gave Dustin a weird look but he ignored it. “Where have you been?” The girl asked.

“I’m so, so sorry. I-I’ve been really busy… uh, trying to save the world from Russians and monsters.”  _ They were so screwed. _

“Of course you have.” Suzie giggles.

Erica wasn’t a fan of the teasing, considering they were running out of time on all ends! “Get the goddamn number already!” Erica demanded, glaring at the other boy. Ignoring Erica, Dustin changed the frequency so the others could hear, praying this would work.

Steve panted frantically from the trunk, him and Robin watching as the beast pursed them. “It’s gaining on us!” Robin shouted. “SHUT UP, IM AWARE!” Jonathan shouted back, keeping his foot pressed firmly on the gas pedal.

“Dusty-bun, you copy?” Everyone heard the radio, confused by the new voice. “I copy, Suzie-poo.” Oh god, she was real? “It sounds much better now. Do you know Planck’s Constant?”

“Do you know the Earth orbits the sun?” Suzie quipped.

It took some back and forth, Dustin begging for her to say it. She wasn’t bugging. Not until he did it. Not until she heard it. Dustin didn’t want to do it, but it needed to be done. An awkwardly long song occured, all parties confused and pissed at the timing, but soon it was done.

“Planck's constant is 6.62607004.” Suzie finally said, relieving everyone. They had it!

Hopper quickly inputted the numbers, taking the case out. Him and the two mothers hurried off, and Erica finally ended the call.

Billy coughed as he stumbled out of his damaged car, landing on all fours. Using the door, Billy stood with a heavy grunt. Starting to walk away from the burning car, a buzzing noise caught his attention. As he looked over, he saw El and Mike struggling to move forward, Max leaning on them both.

“Shit...” Max gasped, shaking her head weakly.

“Go, go!” Mike shouted, doing his best to help the two girls run forward. He slapped the button to the gate, orating it would close in time as they ran.

Heavy booming echoed behind them, the Mind Flayer shrieking as it suddenly stopped. “Shit, it’s turning around!” Steve shouted, “Johnny it’s turning around!”.

_ Oh god, oh god no! _

“Everyone hold on!” Jonathan shouted, taking a hard turn and driving back to the mall.

The three teens ran as fast as they could, praying they'd get some distance from Billy. No such luck, as he pushed open the gates and continued after them.

After some ‘persuasion’ on Hoppers part, they had gotten the lab cleared. “Good god…” Karen gasped, looking at the portal drill. Why was this happening again? What could they possibly want by going back in there?!

“Karen, look at me. We’re going to end this.” Joyce firmly gripped her friend's shoulder, watching Hopper open the briefcase and take out the two keys.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Mike sat Max down. The redhead tiredly looked up, watching Billy make his way down the hall. “Billy…” the girl weakly rasped, praying she could reach some part of his old self.

Hearing this frightened the other two, trying to get the door open. “Billy… Billy, no please. You don’t have to do this, this isn’t you. Your name… it’sBilly. Billy Hargrove. Please, it’s me, Max.”.

Billy walked past her as she couldn’t do much with her injured leg, ignoring her pleas. Refusing to lose anyone else, Mike charged forward with a yell. Billy threw Mike into the wall, knocking him out with ease. A cry of rage tore through El, trying to use her powers but Billy tosses her into the wall. With the girl knocked out, he threw her over his shoulder and walked off.

“Murray, you all set down there?” Hopper asked.

“All set, but I got some company I’d love you to obliterate.”

“Will do. Hang tight.” Hopper inserted the key, looking at the two women. 

Before their countdown could end, the Russian assassin grabbed Hopper, the two getting into a fight. Looking around, Joyce ran for the key, yelling as he grabbed her. “Don’t touch her you Russian bastard!” Karen screamed, jumping on his back. The man threw her off with ease, sending her and Joyce flying into the terminal.

Hopper yelled as he tackled the man, he wasn’t winning the fight this time! The two began duking it out, Hopper refusing to lose when they were right there.

The lights flickered dimly as Billy walked down the hall, passing through Scoops Ahoy and unto the center of the mall. All the lights flickered, leaving a blue and red glow throughout the mall. Reaching the center, Billy laid the girl down, not far from where her dead sister's body laid.

“Don’t be afraid. It’ll be over soon. Just try and stay… very still.” Billy’s haunting whispers awoke Eleven, the girl watching in terror as the Mind Flayer lowered itself into the center of the mall. She whimpered, gasping as she tried to crawl away.

One of the tendrils parted from its mouth, preparing to attack when a colorful explosion went off. The beast shrieked while Billy gasped in pain.

“Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!” Lucas shouted, tossing a firework right into its mouth. From all angles fireworks went off, all her friends and family throwing them at the Mind Flayer to stop it.

“Look at me, you ugly freak!” Barb shouted, throwing one, “That was for my best friend!”. Steve cowered behind her and Robin, unable to bring himself to help.

The fight continued outside the lab, Hopper yelling as he was being tossed around. The two of them were getting a lot closer to the drill, too close. Loud, electric crackling filled the ears, the gears turning quickly as a beam erupted from the drill.

Hopper spat out some blood, glaring at the other man, but he refused to back down. Keep trying, he dared him.

The Mind Flayer wailed as the assault continued, Billy crumbling to his knees yelling. Eleven gasped, trying to crawl back to safety. Turning onto all fours, Eleven tried escaping but Billy grabbed her ankle. She screamed frantically as she was pulled back, her powers useless and her friends busy with the beast.

Joyce gasped as she forced herself up, using the terminal for support, Karen still unconscious beside her. Standing up, she was shocked to find Grigori and Hopper fighting by the drill.

It was getting too close for comfort, Hopper's head dangerously close to the spinning generator, Grigori keeping his foot planted on the man's neck.

“We’re almost out!” Will exclaimed. “I know!” Lucas shouted back.

As the other kept up the assault, Steve took the walkie, refusing to look at the fight. “Dustin! We’re out of time!” Steve pleaded.

“Hurry! Close it now!” Dustin shouted over the radio.

Joyce looked up seeing the two still struggling, then to the keys. Taking off her belt, Joyce wrapped it around one of the keys, struggling to reach the other. “Come on!” She pleaded.

Mike was the first up, hurrying over to help Max up. “Come on, we gotta go help El!” He said, helping her up.

Eleven panted, struggling underneath Billy as she watched the explosions lessen. Looking up at him, she remembered what she saw in the darkness, HB his head. The memories… all of it.

“Seven...feet.” The girl gasped out, a single tear running down her cheek, “you told her… the wave was seven feet. You ran to her, on the beach. There were seagulls. She wore a hat… with a blue ribbon. A long dress… with a blue and red flower. Yell-yellow sandals, covered in sand. She was pretty. She was really pretty. And you... you were happy.”

The memories of a life he had once lived cane back to Billy, El raising a shaky hand to touch his cheek. A tear dropped from his eyes, slowly closing them.

The sound of the drill was almost demeaning, Hopper still struggling beneath him. Twisting his foot off, Hopper pulled the other man down, slamming his head into the drill. With one final struggle, Hopper threw the man into the drill, making it much more unstable. And as a worse side effect, it blocked his exit.

Jonathan prepared to light the final firecracker, but Steve walked over. “Give it to me.” He demanded, the other teen silent for a moment before passing it. Steve gripped it in a shaky hand, his vision hazy from the beatings and tears but he managed to light it. 

_ “I love you, Steve Harrington.” Nancy giggled, peppering his face with kisses. _

_ “And I love you more, Nancy Wheeler.” He giggled, playing with her hair. _

Turning towards the beast, Steve sucked in a breath through his teeth as he threw it with a scream. 

“We’re out!” Will screamed, looking at his brother fearfully. No, please, they couldn’t lose anyone else. Let his vision be wrong!

With the fireworks finally stopping, the Mind Flayer returned its attention to Eleven. Slowly standing up, Billy turned to face the Mind Flayer. The beast let out a fierce roar, Max and Mike running in terrified:

The Mind Flayer screeched, shooting our one of its tendrils but Billy caught it, using what little control he had to protect Eleven. “No!” He shouted, El looking at him wide eyed. Billy yelled as he struggled against the beast, Max looking at him shocked.

Tired of this annoying struggle, several more tendrils grew from the beast, piercing his body one by one. Max stood tearfully, listening to him scream in pain.

“Close it! Close it now!” Dustin pleaded.

Joyce struggled to reach the key, gasping as she finally got a grasp. Looking up, her and Hopper made eye contact. And she knew… just from the look on his face that he was telling her to do it. There was nowhere for him to go, he wouldn’t be the reason they all died.

Billy let out one finally scream, being silenced as a tendril shot through his chest. “Billy!” Max cries out in anguish, Mike struggling to hold her back. The tendrils topped from his body, the teen dropping to the floor.

Tears ran down Joyce’s face, gasping softly as a hand was put on top of hers. Karen looked at her friend sadly, knowing this exact feeling. A soft smile crossed Hopper's face, looking at the two women. Closing her eyes, the two women turned the keys at the same time, causing the drill to explode, flooding the room with a bright light.

_ It was finally over...but at what cost..? _

“Look out!” Jonathan pulled brother back, everyone yelling as the Mind Flayer thrashed around before dropping dead. Slowly they all stood up, looking as it fell. Steve crumbled to his knees crying, Robin instinctively hugging him. Will patted heavily, looking at his brother and Lucas… they did it… they did it…

Joyce sniffles as she looks back into the lab, whimpering as he is really gone. The woman sobbed, clinging to her friend tightly.

Soft sobs filled the air, Max and Eleven knelt down by their siblings, crying over their sacrifices. They had won but lost so much in the process. Max sighed as she cried over Billy’s body, first her parents and now this…? Mike frowned, hugging her gently. He knew this feeling, she wasn’t alone though. They’d make sure of that.

As much as the loss of Hopper hurt, Murray took both women’s hands and ran. If they died now, this would all be for nothing.

A loud noise filled the air, Holly gasping softly as dozens of helicopters flew overhead. Talk about poor timing…

Owens landed down with his team, wasting no time to reach the survivors. There was little to no point though… it was all over.

Everyone was brought outside the mall, soon enough everyone was back. Karen rushes past Murray and Joyce, crying out loud spotting her babies. Holly tiredly looked up from her brother's arms, the poor girl clinging to him. Mike gasped seeing his mother, tears running down his cheeks as he lifted Holly up, running to their mother.

Joyce looked around the crowd as well, spotting Will and Jonathan in an ambulance. Will gasped getting up, watching their mother run over. Joyce gripped Will tightly, sobbing softly, so relieved he was safe. Looking around, she noticed Jonathan, gasping as she climbed into the ambulance, her heartbreaking seeing how hurt he was.

Just before she could go, she saw Eleven walking around searching for her father. Frowning, Joyce got out and walked to her. The girl's eyes linked with hers. A heavy sob leaving her as she knew what had happened, clinging to the woman sobbing as she had lost her sister and her father.

_ They won...but they lost so much. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And at last... the nightmare is over.


	29. Goodbye

“We are all gathered here today to remember those that we have lost.” Nearly all of Hawkins had gathered for the funeral, almost everyone had lost someone to the terrible mall fire. But the group knew, they knew that it was no fire. Once again they had saved the world from the hell that lied around the corner and no one would ever know. No one would know about the scars they barred, the horrors they witnessed, or heart ache they suffered.

Steve silently watched from the parking lot, sitting on the hood of his car. He couldn’t bring himself to be there… not… not after he failed her. A heavy sigh left him, running a hand through his hair.

“You aren’t going?” Steve nearly fell off his car hearing a voice, turning to find Dorian limping over with his crutches. It looked like she survived after all. “I mean half of Hawkins is there but Mr. Perfect ain’t?” She added.

“Not now.” Steve scowled lightly, turning his focus back to the wedding.

A sigh left the goth, surprisingly making her way to join him at the hood of the car. “My uncle was in that thing too. Got flayed while I was invading a Russian base with the Scoops Troop.” There was a faint waver in her voice, yet she willed herself not to cry as she didn’t want her makeup to run, “So… yeah, it sucks. He was one of the few people that understood me. So, I get it. I really do.”.

As much as he had grown to dislike her over the years, that oddly enough helped. “Now the real question… are we going to continue to stalk the funeral… or do you wanna fuck some shit up?” And there was the Dorian he despised. Nonetheless, Steve got up from the hood of his car and walked to the driver's seat. Maybe it would help… and if it didn’t, he got to break some shit in the process.

Everyone else remained at the funeral, mourning the loss of everyone this nightmare had taken.  _ Nancy, Alexei, Kali, Billy, and Hopper… _

Wherever they were… they hoped they were happy. It was better than down here.

**Three Months Later**

The news wasn’t forgiving to Hawkins, but after all the recent deaths and accidents, it wasn’t hard to see why.

“It’s a no, I already said this.” Dorian explained, pushing the paper back towards Steve.

“Oh my god, Dorian come on. I need a job.” Steve stated, Robin still not comfortable with the idea of him working a gun store.

“N-O. My shop, my rules. You aren’t working for her, plus you listed your mom as a reference, not helping you case sweet cheeks. I don’t think you can even name three guns-”

“Colt Python, Mini-14, and the MP5.” Robin quickly said, making the two look at her surprised.

Slowly Dorian eyed Steve, a tad uncomfortable, “She ain’t working here either. I’m still convinced she’s a Russian spy. Look, I’m not giving either of you a job so scram and go help with the move already. And I mean it Steve, get your ass over there already and help. They’ll probably pay you to help move.”

It felt wrong at the thought of being paid to help the Wheeler’s move, but with Robin’s comments, Steve quickly found himself outnumbered. Okay, okay he was going.

The entire group had joined in to help the Wheeler’s while moving out. There wasn’t as much stuff as there used to be considering Karen sold most of it, but the three still needed help. Even some of those who were still healing showed up, wanting to help out how they could.

“Oh shit!” Jonathan gasped, his body still hadn’t fully recovered from the attack at the hospital, making him nearly drop the dresser he was carrying. “Woah, woah!” Steve hurried over, catching the other end before it dropped. A sigh of relief left Jonathan, honestly so glad to see the other teen. He… he had been worried.

Joyce walked around the nearly empty home, ensuring all the kids were okay. “Max, do you need any help sweetie?” She asked, peeking around the corner. The redhead gave a silent nod, preferring to work alone right now. Joyce frowned softly, she understood that even though they took her in, she’d need a lot of time to recover after losing her entire family… just she promised that she’d be there for them, all of them.

Max looked away from Joyce, silently rubbing Eleven’s back. The poor girl was devastated, losing two sister’s, her father, and now she was losing Mike. Frowning, Max leaned over and hugged her friend tightly, both girls crying against each other.

After the two boys loaded the dresser in, Jonathan headed back inside the house to find Barb. He wasn’t surprised when he went upstairs, finding her standing in Nancy’s empty room. “This room used to be decorated from every inch.” Barb sniffled, playing with Nancy’s necklace. After everything it was Karen that decided she of all people should have it. Not her, not her brother, not Holly. No, he. Jonathan walked over, silently hugging her from behind, understanding the pain she had gone through.

All the boys had gathered in Mike’s room, helping him put away the last of his things. “I can’t believe this is it.” Lucas sighed, looking around one last time for good measure.

“No more D&D in the basement.” Will frowned.

At the mention of this, Mike picked up a stack of books and approached Will, holding them out. “You’re the official Dungeon Master. I’m passing the torch onto you.”. Will tearfully took the books, setting them on the ground before tightly embracing his best friend. Wasting no time, Lucas and Dustin joined the hug, all of them standing there for a moment.

Setting the dresser in the car, Steve felt a tug on his hand, looking down to see Holly. “Hey there, princess. What’s up?” He asked, kneeling down.

Without a word, Holly guided him over to her set of toys. The young girl was smarter than she looked, knowing her mother and brother were busy so she didn’t ask them for help. She wanted to be a big girl and put all her Barbies away herself, but it proved too difficult. Nodding, Steve sat on the floor, helping her neatly pack up her Barbies. 

It didn’t take long, but what happened next surprised him. Looking at the teen, Holly pulled a paper eyepatch that she had made from her overall pockets. It had a pink marker heart in the center along with a purple marker color added to the paper. Sniffling softly, the girl wrapped her arms around his neck crying, “Imma miss you, Stevie.” She whimpered, her tears staining his shoulder. The damn quickly broke, Steve pulling the girl close as he cried as well.

Not long after the boys left, El went to check on Mike, finding him distracted. So for old times sakes, she lifted her hand and moved the box that he was trying to grab off of the floor. With a sad smile, she walked over, the two discussing when they would all see each other again. They’d talk every day that they could, promising to visit as many times as they could. It was a promise they’d keep, they wouldn’t lose each other too. And for memories sake, the two shared one final kiss, promising to be there no matter what for each other.

All five teens laid silently on the floor of Nancy’s room, staring at the ceiling. None of them really understood how they all ended up there, but they weren’t complaining.

_ This was where it really ended, huh? _

“To think… three years ago none of us knew who each other were.” Jonathan softly said. It was true. He was an outcast that had to hide who he was, Barb was a shy nerd who stuck with her group, Robin was a theatre nerd, Dorian was an anti-social goth who hated the world, and Steve was the king bee, a complete asshole to any and all. And now look at them…

“Three years can change a lot. I never thought any of this could happen, and then you save my life that day.” Barb remarked, looking at him.

“Been hell of a ride.” Dorian sighed aloud, resting her head on her hands as she stared at the ceiling.

“To think I thought that the social pyramid of high school would be the deadliest thing I fought…” Steve murmured. “Then you fight a demogorgon with a spiked bat. Which you stole from me by the way.” Jonathan remarked, getting lightly elbowed by Barb.

Robin looked at the other four wide eyed, “Sounds like you guys have had a hell of high school.”.

“As a wise man once said ‘We’ve got shared trauma.’” Jonathan began. “‘So what’s a little more?’” Barb finished, gently taking his hand.

Soon enough El went to check on her mother, finding Joyce staring at someone in Hopper’s truck. “Can I read..?” The girl asked, and Joyce passed her the letter.

_ There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you both about. I know this is a difficult conversation, but I care about you both very much. And I know that you care about each other very much. And that’s why it’s important we set boundaries moving forward so we can build an environment… where we all feel… comfortable… trusted… and open... to sharing our feelings. Feelings… feelings… Jesus. _

Karen tightly hugged Barb and Steve, not wanting to let go of the two teens she had grown to adore as her own. Mike went to each of his friends hugging them, struggling not to cry again as each of them gave him a strong squeeze. A frown grew on Karen’s face, her heart breaking watching her children’s tearful goodbyes.

_ The truth is… for so long, I’d forgotten what those even were. I’ve been stuck in one place, in a cave, you might say. A deep, dark cave. And then, I left some Eggos out in the woods, and you came into my life and… for the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again. I started to feel happy.  _

Everyone watched the U-Haul pull away from the house, driving farther and farther away until it was impossible to see anymore. 

_ But lately I’ve been feeling... distant from you. Like you’re pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games with you every night, making triple-decker Eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, watching Westerns together before we doze off.  _

Mike leaned against the window, watching as they drove by familiar places that they may never see again. Holly leaned against his brother, holding a family picture silently. Karen kept her eyes on the road, a painful silence echoing within the U-Haul. Soon everyone left the Wheeler home, Will giving it one last look before leaving with his family. 

_ But I know you're getting older. Growing. Changing. And I guess… if I’m really being honest… that’s what scares me. I don’t want things to change. So, I think maybe that’s why I came in here, to try to maybe… stop that change. Turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were. But I know that’s naive. _

As Joyce drove, Jonathan gave both El and Will a tight hug in the back seats. Dorian gave Steve a slanted smile, some of her mascara was running a bit but she kept up the smile, driving the two towards a familiar dumpsite. 

_ It’s just… not how life works. It’s moving. Always moving, whether you like it or not. And, yeah, sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it’s sad. And sometimes… it’s surprising... it’s happy. So, you know what? Keep on growing up, kid. Don’t let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from ‘em. And when life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you’re out of that cave. But, please, if you don’t mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches. _

Tears rolled down Eleven’s cheek, folding the letter up and putting it into her shirt pocket. “It’s time to say bye.” The girl looked up, finding Will. Sniffling, the girl nodded, getting out of the car to say goodbye.

Once everything was out and her children were outside, Karen looked around the empty house one last time, tears running down her cheeks. Sniffling, she headed to the front door and closed it behind her for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that... it's over.


	30. Thank you all

Thank you, everyone who read this story. It was a long and heartbreaking journey, but we reached the end. There were many bumps in the writing process, but at last it's done.

Now one quick announcement. I will not be doing S4. I want my story to end here. I'm happy with how the journey ended.

And now I have a few questions for you lovelies. Commentary is something I adore as a writer, so I want to know your thoughts with these questions.

1\. Who was your favorite character?

2\. What was your favorite season?

3\. What was your favorite romance?

4\. What was you favorite change?

5\. What was your favorite part?

6\. What was your least favorite part?

7\. What did you think about Dorian? (I like her a lot, but I understand my presentation of her was a bit wonky so I want to know what everyone thought about her.)

Thank you everyone for sharing this journey with me, and goodbye.


End file.
